


Double Agents

by minni_k



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:00:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 22,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25530211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minni_k/pseuds/minni_k
Summary: "What do you say?" The girl said through the glass wall, looking straight at the boy across from her, his eyes glared at her as he realized he had no other choice. "Partners?"Partners Remake
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai, Huang Zi Tao | Z.Tao/Wu Yi Fan | Kris, Kim A-ra /Bin Woo-Hyun, Kim Jongdae | Chen/Kim Minseok | Xiumin, Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Zhang Yi Xing | Lay, Lee Seo-Yeon/ Ji Joon-Soo, Lu Han/Oh Sehun, Park Hyo-Min/ Han Yoon-Jae





	1. Chapter 1

Baekhyun stood against the wall of the bank as he looked down at the phone, one headphone in his ear as he softly moved his head to the rhythm. Stuffing one hand into the pocket of his navy, blue hoodie, he let out a sigh. Looking up, he watched as the normal people in front of his walked quickly through the plaza, each having somewhere to be in the busy downtown area. 

"Are we sure they're having the deal here?" he asked himself, just loud enough so that the earpiece he had in his ear could hear him. He rolled his eyes as he automatically heard a deep sigh fill his eardrums. "Would you get away from the microphone! I'm going to go deaf before we get done with this."

"Sorry Baek," Xiumin's lighter voice chimed in. "This is why I said you should have Chanyeol out there with you in the first place."

"I can do this by myself. He wouldn't be doing anything"

"Do you really think he's doing anymore sitting here with me?"

"You guys know I'm still here right?" a voice said in the distance. The sound of his teammate's whine made him roll his eyes, something to his left catching his eye. He watched as a man in a business suit walked through the plaza, his eyes looking around as if watching out for someone. Baekhyun slowly leaned off the walk and began to follow the man from a distance, watching his every move.

"I think I found him guys," Baekhyun says. 

"Where?" 

"In the plaza, going towards the park. Tall. Brown hair. Expensive Navy Suit."

"Sounds like my kind of guy!" a happy voice said. 

"Shut up Tao," a deeper voice interrupted. 

"Keep trailing him Baek," Suho instructed. "Luhan, you and Sehun try to intervene."

"Sehun isn't here remember?"

"He isn't here? Where did he go?"

"Someplace with Kai I bet," Kyungsoo said., "I'll be there." Listening to the instructions given to him, Baekhyun began casually walking behind the man, making sure to stay a few feet away from him. Moments passed and Kyungsoo was at his side, both of them walking intensely behind the man until he stopped. 

"Do you think--" Baekhyun was about to ask when the man suddenly began to run.

"I think he does," Kyungsoo said before the two began running as well. "He's on the run."

"Where is he headed?"

"Towards the main street," Baekhyun answered. The two chased after him as he pushed people in their way, trying to slow them down. The continued to follow him getting close enough to grab him arm only for the man to turn and throw the briefcase at the two boys, hitting Kyungsoo in the face.

"Fuck," the shorter man said, holding his nose. 

"Soo!"

"Keep following him," Kyungsoo said not looking up. Baekhyun looked at his friend as he felt a hand on his shoulder. The man looked up to see his taller counterpart.

"Come on, before he gets away," Chanyeol said. He looked around to see the man still running, tripping over himself before looking back, seeing Luhan running towards them, also yelling at him to run ahead. Know the right thing, Baekhyun got up and began to chase after the man at full speed, Chanyeol not too far behind him. 

"Nothing was in the briefcase, " Chanyeol said. "So whatever it is, he still has it." The information made him run faster until he was stopped by the same are that got him to run in the first place.

"What?" he asked, before feeling the wind blow on his face from a passing car. Reality hit him as he realized they had stopped right at an intersection, cars moving from ever direction.

"Sorry," Chanyeol said. "I didn't want you to get crushed." The two both looked across the road, not seeing the man anywhere.

"He got away," Baekhyun said over his earpiece.

"Not exactly!" a new voice chimed in. The two boys looked at each other before hearing their names yelled from across the road. They turned only to spot their tall tan friend walking alongside their slightly shorter poker-faced one, both holding the arms of the suited man. 

~*~

"Are you sure you're fine Soo?" Kai asked walking beside the other, worried. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes as they walked through the tight hallway, the two of them being the only ones able to fit at that time.

"Yes, I'm fine Kai," Kyungsoo said. "I just got hit in the face, not shot. I'm fine." The two took a sharp turn into a room, finding their fellow sitting around. 

"Look who's late again," Chen said, laughing a little before getting hit by Lay who sat beside him. Kai completely ignored his comment

"I'm just saying," Kai said. "We don't know if there was some internal damage that happened."

"You were literally just at the infirmary with me," Kyungsoo said, taking a seat. "Like you actually just asked the doctor that exact question and she said no. Nothing is wrong with me. I'm fine."

"Stop babying him Kai," Baekhyun said. "At least he was at the mission on time."

"Excuse me," Sehun interrupted. "We had perfect timing, thank you very much. We're the ones actually caught the guy remember?"

"We probably would've caught the guy if you were on time too," Luhan said.

"What were you guys even doing that made you late?" Tao asked.

"Does that really matter?" Sehun said. 

"Yeah. The fact is that we caught the guy so it's a win-win." Chen commented.

"And you're really the last one to be talking about babying anyone," Kai said. 

"What are you talking about?" 

"Didn't you keep Chanyeol in the van just because he got hit in the head a couple of times?" Kai said. 

"That's why I had to stay back?"

"Dude!" Xiumin said a little annoyed. "He almost messed up all my equipment!"

"I sat there... That's all I did," Chanyeol said.

"Why are you all yelling so much?" Chen asked.

"It's not because he got hit, it's because he's always being too reckless."

"Says the one who almost ran into the road."

"Because I was trying to catch the guy!"

"Because you were too worried about Kyungsoo just because he got hit in the face," Chanyeol yelled.

"Hey! It hurt! Don't blame him for worrying about his friend."

"I knew you were hurt!" The group began to bicker amongst each other, talking about how they were late and unfocused and blaming each other for basically nothing. Lay watched from the corner, wondering how things must've been during the actual mission if this was the outcome. He only got up when hearing the door open, knowing the two missing men were the only ones that could be there. 

"What are you all fighting about?" Kris yelled over the rabble, stopping everything for only moments before the bickering became rabbles of pointing fingers.

"Hey Hey Hey," Suho said, trying to calm his friends. "Now isn't the time for this. We have more important matters to deal with."

"We have another lead," Kris stated, "And were teaming up." 

"With who?" Baekhyun asked. Kris and Suho gave each other a worried look before walking fully into the room, the three boys behind them revealing their smirks and chuckles as the others looked in awe.


	2. Chapter 2

"NO," Baekhyun yelled, making his way over to Kris and Suho. "There is no way I'm working with those... those..." Baekhyun simply let out a sigh of frustration. "There isn't even a word to describe how bad those three are."

"Is there not a word?" One of the boys said, his small blue eyes looking over to Baekhyun as he wore a smirk. His hair is dark and short, flipped up so that it wouldn't hang in his face. Many people said that he seemed like a younger version of the tall blonde who stood in the corner, silent and cold most the time, but when he does talk, it's usually serious or sarcastic. His name was Joon-Soo, but most people just call him Joon. "Or are you just too dumb to think of one?" The comment was enough to make the man try and grab the other, only being stopped by Chanyeol.

"What would you all know," Chen asked, looking at the three with his arms crossed. "Aren't you like 12?"

"Can't you come up with a better comeback?" another boy mentioned. Unlike the other, he was very bored with the situation, the emotion painted over his face. His hair was a chestnut brown, his bangs showing from under his grey beanie as he looked at the other with a glare, not finding the man amusing. "What are you? 5?" His name was Woo-Hyun, one of the smartest amongst their bunch. Though he isn't a bragger, he never denies that he thinks he's the smartest person in the room, something that quickly got on everyone's nerves.

"You little--"

"What's the point of worrying about them Woo," the third boy said, a genuine smile on his face as he looked at the group. He smiled showing off his small lip piercing as he put his hands through his dark black hair, The boy was bold and stuck out, his cockiness always presents when doing anything. This was Yoon, the resident annoyance of the group. "We won't have to work with them for long, seeing that we'll be able to get this done in 5 days rather than 5 months."

"What is he talking about?" Kyungsoo asked, turning to their leaders. "They're joining this mission with us?"

"No way!" Sehun said. "We've been working on this for so long. We're almost done."

"Boss said we were taking too long alone," Kris explained. "It was either work with them or give them the mission."

"Are we going to just stand here and chatter or are you going to fill us in so we can get this mission over with?" Yoon asked, getting bored. "It's not like you have much of a choice." The men looked at the boys with glares, all of them feeling a similar feeling of disappointment mixed with anger and regret.

"We'll brief in 10 minutes in the projection room," Suho said, watching as the boys walked out of the room together, sending one last smirk to the elders. Once they left, the door shut, letting Baekhyun and Kyungsoo let out groans of anger.

"I can't believe we have to work with them," Baekhyun said.

"They're so arrogant and entitled and such spoiled little brats," Kyungsoo added.

"Whining about it won't change anything," Xiumin said with a sigh. "Might as well just finish the mission as soon as possible so we don't have to deal with them any longer than needed."

"Maybe things won't so bad," Lay said, trying to stay positive. His friends groaned in response.

"Yeah. Maybe we'll figure out they aren't major assholes, just minor ones."

" Come on guys," Chanyeol said, looking at his friends. "We all know this is just a phase. They're new and haven't actually done anything yet. Of course, they're cocky. They'll wake up soon enough."

"He's right," Chen agreed. "We were all like that at one point or another."

"Some of us are still like that if you ask me," Luhan said under his breath.

"Are you seriously that mad that we came late?" Sehun asked. "We caught the guy so what does it matter?"

"Hey!" Kris said, raising his voice as if he were talking to children. "We aren't having this argument again. Now go to the projection room for the brief." Listening to the other, the 10 men walked out of the room, having small conversations amongst themselves while their two leaders watched.

"Did you really have to yell like that?" Suho asked.

"It's already going to be hard enough keeping them in line with the boys joining, we don't have time for them to be fighting amongst themselves," Kris said.

"We don't have much time for any of this," Suho said. "Like Boss said if we don't get the bust soon..."

"Then we're all in big trouble."

~*~

"So," Suho said, standing in the front of the room, Kris beside him as they looked at the 13 people in front of him. "Here's what's happening." The project clicks on, revealing a blue screen with 3 business logos on them. " There are suspicions that there are embezzlement and extortion amongst these well-known businesses and many others."

"We think they are working together to overpower the business industry and eventually control everything with their power, including buying off state legislators to do what benefits them."

"What we've been trying to do is track down information for low laying companies that work with them these big ones. If we anything, we're hoping to get enough information to hack into their mainframe and get the evidence we need. "

"And how close to that are you guys now?" Joon asked.

"With the guy, we were able to capture today," Kris said, in a 'matter-a-fact' tone. "We did."

"A lot of documents, billing reports, but more importantly, we have the man's computer."

"What's next?" Baekhyun asked.

"Xiumin and Woo-Hyun," Kris said. "You all are in charge of hacking into the computer. Try and get as much information as you can out of it."

"Got it," both the males said before sending each other a glare.

"Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Yoon," Suho said, "You all are in charge of the investigation."

"Let's do it quick then," Baekhyun said rolling his eyes,

"Hey," Kris said, looking at everyone. "We don't have time to argue and annoy each other. We're all gonna be working together so get used to it and play nice. You're all dismissed."


	3. Chapter 3

"Why isn't he talking?" Baekhyun complained, slamming the file folder down on the table. Chanyeol stood on the wall as Yoon sat at the table, staring at the man as he paced in anger. "4 hours. I've been in there for four hours trying to get answers and nothing... Nothing!"

"I told you he'd be more responsive if you hadn't given him food," Yoon said, looking at his phone in boredom.

"We aren't going to starve him," Chanyeol said. 

"What do we do?" Baekhyun asked. "If he doesn't talk, what are we going to do?"

"Why don't I try?" Chanyeol said, giving the other a smile. Baekhyun just looked at the man before he walked out of the room. 

"What is he going to do that I haven't tried?" Baekhyun asked himself, sitting down at the table.

"Well, for one. He's nicer than you," Yoon mentioned. "That might help." Baekhyun scoffed.

"I'm nice!"

"If this is you being nice, then everyone else in the world must be a saint."

"What would you know?" Baekhyun said. "You're just a cocky little brat. You haven't even finished high school yet."

"I'm a lot more mature than you."

"In your dreams," Baekhyun said. Yoon rolled his eyes, looking back down at his phone. A few moments went by when Chanyeol came back in, holding his nose with his head tilted up. "What the fuck happened to you?"

"I don't know," Chanyeol said, Baekhyun leading the man to his seat. "We were talking and I was going over the things we already know and I asked him about KLP and he suddenly started swinging at me."

"Let me see," Baekhyun said, moving the man's hand, revealing his bloody nose. Baekhyun's nose scrunched as he looked at his friend worriedly, part of him angry while the other was concerned. Chanyeol was otherwise frozen, his heart beating a hundred per minute as his friend held his head up, making him look into his eyes. The few seconds felt like hours to him. Yoon watched silently, part of him feeling like he intruded on a private moment. "That bastard," Baekhyun whispered, taking his hands off the man's face.

"What do you think made him start swinging?" Yoon asked, thinking things through in his head.

"I don't know," Chanyeol said. "He didn't seem okay though. It seemed like he was paranoid or something. I think me mentioning the company just set him off."

"Was he scared the entire time?"

"Yeah. He kept looking around the room and was talking really low like he didn't want anyone to hear him."

"He's probably lost his marbles," Baekhyun said, stepping away, looking around the room for something. "No logically sane person would just start swinging." Yoon began to mumble to himself as the door opened, Luhan and Kyungsoo stepping into the room. 

"We saw them taking that guy back to his--"

"What happened to your face?" Luhan interrupted Kyungsoo, surprised by the amount of blood splattered. "Did you get that mad at him Baekhyun?"

"Told ya you were mean," Yoon said, walking past the four men. "I'll be back!" Baekhyun let out a low growl as he watched the boy leave, the anger for him festering in his chest. 

"If I was going to punch anyone, it would've been that little piece of shit," Baekhyun said, bringing napkins over to clean up Chanyeol. "The suspect hit him out of nowhere during the investigation."

"I'm fine though," Chanyeol said looking at his friends, stopping Baekhyun as he dabbed the blood off. Baekhyun let out a sigh before giving him the napkins and sitting down beside him. 

"Have they found anything on the computer yet?" 

"Nothing yet. Xiumin and Woo-Hyun are none stop trying but they keep hitting dead ends," Kyungsoo said.

"Do you think there's a possibility they know? Like the company is on to us?" Luhan asked the room.

"Our guy believes so," Yoon said, walking back into the room, a tablet in hand.

"What's that?"

"Survalinece footage from the investigation room," Yoon answered, putting the tablet on the table. "The guy seemed weird. I think he might have psychological damage, maybe from KLP. I wanted to see if by chance he said something we didn't catch that could help." 

"And did you find something,"

"Him talking to the air gives me a few ideas but see for yourself," Yoon said, playing the video. It started after someone had left the room, everyone assuming it had been Baekhyun. The man began looking around before noticing the cameras in the corners of the room. The men watching saw the sudden shift in his attitude, his leg started to bounce like crazy as he looked down at his hand, both of them starting to fidget as he whispered to himself. 

"I won't tell them anything. I promise," the man suddenly said, loud enough for the mics to pick up. "I won't tell them anything!" The door suddenly opened, a tall figure walking in.

"That must be Chanyeol." 

"Hey," Chanyeol's voice was heard over the video. "How are you going?" he pulled a chair back as the man moved back, scared of the other. "Oh, there's no reason to be scared."

"Your friend seemed to give me a couple of reasons to be," the man said. 

"Told ya," Yoon said to the older, only earning him a 'shush' and a slap to the head.

"Don't worry about him," Chanyeol said with a laugh. " He's just stressed out you know?" The man stayed silent as Chanyeol looked at him up and down. "You seem a little stressed yourself."

"Well, if you were in this situation I bet you'd be stressed out too."

"Why?" Chanyeol asked. "It's not like you're in trouble or anything."

"What do you mean?... I'm not in trouble?"

"Of course not," Chanyeol answered. "As far as I'm concerned, you've done nothing wrong." With those words, the man let out a breath of relief, sitting back in the chair and letting his limbs hang freely, fully relaxed. From then on, the two began to talk a little more, conversating and such about this and that.

"I will never understand how you do that," Baekhyun said, marveling as the man spilled his entire life story to Chanyeol.

"It's a gift," Chanyeol said.

"Or just a concept of being nice that you can't gra-- Ow!" Yoon said, feeling a sting on the back of his head once again. "Can you stop hitting me?" 

"Maybe, if you stop being a smart ass," Baekhyun growled back.

"Shut up guys," Kyungsoo said, watching the video intensely.

"And then there's this job."

"The one with KLP right?" Chanyeol asked.

"Yeah. That..." And then the man paused, staring at Chanyeol and looking at the camera in the corner as if making a realization at that moment. As Chanyeol began to say something else, the man jumped over the table and punched him right in the nose, making him groan. Guards came in and held the man back as they got Chanyeol out of the room, the man yelling as he left.

"Don’t send them… please not again! No! NO!!" he yelled before turning to the camera. "I didn’t say anything!" The man’s words began to slur as guards began to detain him, injecting a tranqulizer in his side, sending him into a deeper sleep. 

"Someone has definitely been messing with his head.”

"He was talking to the cameras... as if he knew someone was watching."

"The only ones who could be watching are us right?"

"There's no way anyone else could hack our system. If someone did, we would know."

"So you think he’s just crazy?" Baekhyun said. "You think KLP conditions their works that badly?"

"I wouldn’t be surprised.” Kyungsoo said

”I'll go let Suho and Kris know about this and well see what they wanna do," Luhan said. He quickly took the laptop before running out of the room, waving to the others on his way out.

"Good Job guys," Kyungsoo said, walking out after him.

"Why do you guys get any credit?" Yoon asked himself, looking at the tablet. "I did all the work."

"Last time I checked, Chanyeol was the one who got him to say anything," Baekhyun stated. "And it cost him his nose."

"Well," Yoon said, walking towards the door. "We can both agree that I did more than you." Baekkhyun was about to pounce on the boy but Chanyeol held him back, letting the younger run down the hallway as he snickered.

"I really hate that kid," Baekhyun said, looking towards the door as he tried to control his anger.

"He's still new Baek," Chanyeol said. Baaekhyun turned around suddenly remembering the current state he was in. Like before, he automatically put his hands on his cheeks and lifted his head up, making Chanyeol's heart skip. "Your face! I'm gonna go get the first aid kit." Without another word, the man walked out. A few moments passed before Yoon appeared at the door again, leaning against it with his arms crossed.

"You know if you just told him how you felt," Yoon said, getting the man's attention. "Things like that wouldn't be so awkward."

Chanyeol let out a laugh. "It's not that easy, kid. You'll realize when you're older."

"Hey! I'm almost 18," Yoon sais with a pout. "I'm pretty sure I'm old enough to realize you have a thing for Baekhyun!"

"Would you keep it down!" Chanyeol said.

"Why? Or am I not old enough to understand?" 

"I'm starting to get why he doesn't like you," Chanyeol said, ruffling his hair. Yoon slapped the man's hands away, yelling at him for messing up his hair before walking away. He grumbled to himself as he walked, trying to ignore the somewhat foreign warm feeling the action gave him.


	4. Chapter 4

The three men walk quickly through the hallway before entering the room one at a time, being sure not to make much noise as they all shuffled in. Once the door closed, they looked to the big brown desk in front of them, the chair behind it facing the see-through wall that gave an amazing view of the city below them. No one said a word until hearing a snap. One of the men quickly ran to the desk before placing a file folder out across it. When a hand reached over and took it, the man found his way back to his spot. 

"So we have a prospective investor?" A deep voice said. 

"Yes. They have already asked for a meeting with us to go over details," one of the men spoke. The only sound heard through the room was the sound of the man's sigh and the sound of the chair turning. The man in the chair threw down the file folder before looking at the three men. 

"Have the girls go. They'll know what to do."

"But sir... they are only--"

"Did I ask for your opinion on it?" The man said sternly, cutting off whatever comment the other had. The man in question closed his mouth, looking down at the floor as if he didn't have the other's glare on him. "Set it up for tomorrow." The three men all bowed as they accepted the task before quickly leaving the room and the man, who turned his chair around and looked back out the window once again.

~*~

Xiumin walked into the breakroom, sluggishly, pulling his feet behind him as he walked over to his friends. Lay, Luhan, and Chen watched, noticing the black circles around his eyes and his tired eyes. Woo-Hyun walked behind him, watching as if waiting for the man to fall at some point. "We got it," he said, reaching the table with a somewhat soft smile before falling over. 

"Xiu!" Luhan said surprised, watching as Woo-Hyun and Chen helped the man up, putting him in a chair and sitting him up. "What the fuck happened to you?"

"He was probably up all night again," Lay said, quickly making some coffee as his watched friend lean on Chen's shoulder, eyes closed as if he was in a daze.

"Hey," Chen said in a soft voice. "When was the last time you went to bed?"

"I don't know... Monday?... I know I took a nap sometimes." Xiumin said. "But I got it done."

"I left him Tuesday night and when I got back yesterday morning, he was still in the same position," Woo-Hyun said. 

"He's dedicated," Luhan said, getting a snack for his friend. "Once he gets in the zone, it's hard for him to do anything else."

"I can see," Woo-Hyun said, a little impressed. "But that might also be why you guys are always kinda... unorganized."

"What are you talking about?" Chen said. 

"You can't expect him to have all-nighters for three days straight and then be perfectly ready to help execute plans the next night," Woo-Hyun explained, feeling that it was obvious.

"We get the job done. Yeah, we worry but we can't stop him, we've tried. He's just focused on getting the work done. That's what's important to him," Tao said, walking into the room, overhearing the conversation. "This way works for us and has been for years."

"Yeah but it could be a lot better if all your teammates were on their A-game," Woo-Hyun said. "If not, you'll start getting sloppy." With that last comment, he left the room, leaving the boys with their thoughts.

"I like him the least of all," Tao said with a growl.

"Why?" Lay said, laughing a little. "Because out of all of them, he's right most of the time?"

"Yes," Tao said. "I hate that he's right all the time and that he always knows that he's right. It's frustrating."

"He's better than their little leader," Chen said. "That guy is just arrogant for no reason."

"He's intimidating, that's what makes him good," Lay said, sitting back at the table, placing the cup of coffee in front of Xiumin. "Besides, their rookies. They just started. This is probably one of their harder cases they've gotten so far. Give them a break. Let them feel good before things get hard."

"Hey," Baekhyun said, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol walking in behind him, greeting their friends. "What's up?"

"We might have just gotten a lead," Chen said. "Xiumin just got done with a three-day streak."

"Yeah and that kid Woo-Hyun told us that we shouldn't let him do that or else we'll get sloppy," Tao mocked. Baekhyun let out a groan.

"Ugh. I hate that kid. He always thinks he knows everything about everything."

"Well, most of the time, he isn't wrong," Kyungsoo added, taking a seat.

"I know... That's what's so annoying," Baekhyun said, crossing his arms.

"Don't you guys think you're being kinda hard on them?" Chanyeol asked. "I mean they're just kids, they haven't even graduated high school yet."

"You only care about them because you trained them," Baekhyun said. "I don't like them. Their arrogant little assholes and have no respect for their superiors"

"Let's not forget that there was a time you were an arrogant little asshole too, Baekhyun," Lay said with a laugh. 

"Some would argue that you still are one," Kyungsoo said under his breath, causing his friend to glare at him. 

"Yeah, and when did you ever respect your superiors?" Chen added. 

"Says the one who spray-painted one of the company cars because of a dare," Baekhyun said back.

"Hey! That was different!"

"Yeah yeah. Totally different." Baekhyun mocked. In annoyance, Chen quickly got up, forgetting about the sleeping man on his shoulder for a slight second before catching him. 

"Go and put him in the infirmary or something so he doesn't have to deal with you two while he's sleeping." Luhan nagged.

"Shouldn't we wake him up for the meeting though?" Tao asked. "If he got a lead then shouldn't he explain what he found?"

"I think Woo-Hyun was right. We should let him gain his energy back. Right now he just needs to sleep," Lay said.

"Besides," Chen said, getting the man on his back with the help of Luhan. "I don't think he'd wake up even if we tried."

"That's what three days will do to you I guess," Baekhyun said. 

~*~

"These are our ultimate targets," Woo-Hyun said, standing in front of everyone as the screen behind him projected three Korean middle-aged looking men. "Kim Young-Jae, Lee Seo-Jin, and Park Min-Jun. Founders and current CEOs of the KLP franchise."

"Yes, the company which we think is doing so shade shit," Baekhyun said. 

"We are all aware of who we are dealing with here," Kris said.

"Yeah but it's not just their company," Woo-Hyun stated, rolling his eyes. "This scheme involves every company that has some type of connection with KLP. Their lawyers, their partners, the people they sponsor. Every company they've worked with is in on this."

"And what about the company's who don't want to be apart of it?" Luhan asked. "There have to be some people who weren't okay with this stuff. Can we look for them?"

"There were a few but those companies seem to conveniently disappear for one reason or another," Woo-Hyun explained. "Along with the people who started them."

"So they are powerful people. How do we take them down?"

"We've tried to hack into their systems, bug the CEOs, tracking their messages, but their system is sealed shut. We couldn't get in."

"Not even with the computer?" Suho asked.

"The minute we tried to hack into it, everything was erased."

"These guys really know what they're risking," Sehun said.

"So what does that mean?" Jongin asked. "Is this a dead end?"

"Not exactly," Woo-Hyun said, changing the screen to present a company logo no one recognized. "We weren't able to hack into anyone's systems or emails but we were able to set up an appointment to meet with them as prospective investors."

"You want us to go and try to join in all this?" Baekhyun asked.

"Inviltraie from the inside," Joon commented, a small smirk on his face. "Doesn't sound like something you'd think of."

"It was Xiumin's idea," Woo-Hyun stated. "Even on the edge of exhaustion, he came up with a solid plan for you guys."

"Sounds like him," Luhan said.

"I don't know about this," Suho said. "There could be a lot of problems if we don't play our cards right."

"Where's the fun without some risk?" Chen said.

"I agree," Yoon and Baekhyun said in unison, both immediately gagging after. 

"I personally still think it's a little risky," Woo-Hyun said, " But it's all we got right now. Plus Xiumin seems pretty confident in his plan."

"He's good at seeing all the possibilities," Kris commented. "That's why he's in the position he's in. If he planned this then it should work out fine."

"Okay then," Suho said. "Let's go over the plan and get to work!"


	5. 5

"Lay," Suho greeted, walking into the empty room. The tall lengthy brunette looked up from his weapon to see his friend, smiling at wide once recognizing him. Putting down the gun he waved and watched as the other began moving closer towards him.

"What you need?" Lay asked. "I got all the paperwork filled out and turned it in. I made sure all the others are training and ready for the mission. And I got all the weapons Xiumin listed plus a couple of extra that wouldn't be bad for you all to bring along."

"That's kinda what I wanted to talk to you about," Suho said, his voice getting softer as he talked.

"Is this about the Xiumin thing?" Lay asked with a sigh. "I know that he wants to go and that he's an important part of the team but he really needs to rest right now. We can't just keep letting him exhaust himself for missions."

"I know and I totally agree," Suho said, leading Lay to take a seat. "He will be staying back along with Chen."

"Why Chen?"

"He insisted," Suho said, rolling his eyes. "But since he is staying, we need someone to replace him." The two sat there in silence as they seem to communicate with their eyes.

"No," Lay said sternly, getting back up and picking up a gun.

"Lay, please don't be like this."

"You know I can't go back into the field again," Lay said, beginning to clean the gun in his hand with a small rag. "Besides, we just got the three boys. You guys don't need me."

"That only leaves us with one backup. We need at least two," Suho explained. "Come on. It's not like you haven't done it before. We both trained together to do this. We were such a great team."

"Yeah, but there is a reason you got promoted to a leader with Kris and I train new recruits," Lay said. "I can't go out in the field again. It's just not for me."

"Lay."

"If you keep asking me, I'm going to get mad Suho," Lay said, his voice getting lower as the words came out. The once light air in the room became tense as it was filled with silence for a few moments. Suho watching as the man continued to do his task.

"If you're worried about what happened last time," Suho started off. "Don't be. I've told you a million times that nothing like that will happen again."

"I'm not going Suho." The two sat in a small silence as Suho tried to figure out the best course of action. He knew what he had to do, despite it being the worse option.

"Yes, you are," Suho said, his voice now stern and loud. "Before it was an offer but now it's an order." Lay took in a deep breath as he placed the gun on the table, turning around only to Suho walking away from him.

"Are you serious right now?" Lay yelled, trying to catch the man's attention. When he didn't respond, the man simply yelled out his name, watching as the other walked out the door without a care. In anger, Lay picked up one of the guns before aiming it at the wall, letting himself pull the trigger three times. He huffed in anger as he let out a groan, thinking about the trap he was now in.   
As the doors closed behind him Suho leaned himself against the wall and took in a deep breath. A million thoughts flowed through his mind as he replayed the scene that just happened over and over, questioning if he had done the right thing. That was until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Kris standing beside him.

"You did good," Kris said simply.

"He shot off three," Suho said to himself. "He can't be too mad can he?" The other was about to comment when they heard a loud scream, 4 shots going off with 2 more after a few moments. Suho groaned.

"Everything is gonna be fine," Kris said, leading the man down the hallway in fear of what the man would do if they stayed.

~*~

"I'm so hungry," Xiumin groaned as he, Baekhyun, Kyungsoo, and Tao all sat down at their usual place in the courtyard, other college students passing by like any normal day. "After doing all that research and then having to come here and do chemistry for 2 hours, I feel like I'm dying."

"I told you not to take chemistry at the beginning of the year," Tao said. "The professor is an absolute ass-hat."

"It can't be worse than my stats professor," Kyungsoo commented, leaning his chin on his hand, as he groaned. 

"What's so bad about your stats class?" Baekhyun asked. "You're great at math."

"I know, but the other people in my class aren't. Whenever he gives us back assignments, he complains about how the rest of the class isn't working hard enough and gives me all this praise in front of everyone. " Kyungsoo whines. "It's embarrassing and I'm pretty sure now, all of my classmates hate me."

"Or, it might because you have a MAJOR resting bitch face."

"How am I supposed to help that? it's just my face. I can't change it." Kyungsoo said.

"I know a great remedy for that!" Xiumin said. "Food! Let's go get some!"

"We have to wait for Luhan and Lay first," Tao said, watching as one of them rushed towards them. The small chestnut-haired man ran quickly through the courtyard, reaching his friends in huffs. 

"What the hell happened to you?" Baekhyun asked.

"Did you run across campus?" Kyungsoo asked, laughing a little at the thought. 

"Just heard... Lay... and Suho... bad!" Luhan said, his breath cutting into his sentence.

"Take a full breath and then try to talk please," Tao said with a little sass, watching as Luhan sat down, taking a big breath to calm himself.

"Suho told Lay that he has to go on the mission with us and Lay is pissed off," Luhan explained.

"What? Why?" Kyungsoo asked.

"Lay hasn't been on a mission in what... 2 years? Why would does he suddenly have to go now?"

"It's because of me isn't it?" Xiumin asked. "Because I'm staying back?"

"No. Because your little boyfriend decided he wanted to stay back too. Suho says we needed a backup and the only other person who could go was Lay."

"He's not my boyfriend," Xiumin whined.

"That's not what's important right now is that we need to find Lay--"

"He's right there," Tao said, seeing as the other walked up the group, his face plain and his headphones in. The boys all scrambled amongst themselves as they saw their friend inch closer until he was finally in front of them. The taller amongst them looked into their eyes, their fake smiles making him roll his eyes.

"Hey, friend!" Baekhyun said, trying to sound extra cheer.

"Cut the crap," Lay said bluntly. "It's obvious that you all know." The boys all let out a sigh as their friend sat down. "I'm fine with it all."

"Lay... You looked like you were gonna murder someone when we saw you," Tao said, holding the other's hand. "I wouldn't call that fine."

"I'll fix it," Xiumin said. "I'll call Chen right now and tell him to go on the mission."

"We all know Chen isn't just gonna leave you alone," Kyungsoo said.

"Lay would be with me! or... I'll go on the mission too!" Xiumin said. "I'm healthy. I can go."

"No Xiu," Lay said with a sigh. "We all agreed that you need to rest. You always work non-stop. You need to rest a bit."

"Come on guys. If I wasn't working I'd just be doing something else that keeps me up," Xiumin argued.

"Why don't we all just go to Suho?" Kyungsoo said. "Maybe we could talk some sense into him."

"I doubt that," Lay said. "I'm just going to have to get over it."

"Don't worry Lay," Baekhyun said. "We'll make sure Suho gets a little bit of what he deserves."

"Baekhyun... don't hurt Suho," Kyungsoo said. 

"I wasn't..." Baekhyun said, rolling his eyes. His friends looked at him in silence until the boy groaned. "Fine! I won't do anything!"

"Who knows," Luhan said. "Maybe it won't be so bad. "

"I hope so," Lay said with another huff. "I don't wanna talk about this anymore... I wanna eat."

"Finally!" Xiumin said, moving over to his friend to give him a hug, "Someone who is speaking my language."


	6. 6

"So this is what it's gonna look like tonight," Kris stated, standing in front of the projector once again. The other 14 boys watched as 5 small circles appeared on the screen, 3 in the middle of the screen while 4 more were at the edge of the screen, all with the label 'enemy'. "They wanna meet in an abandoned garage, we've already scoped it out and the surrounding buildings. Not much around. We are going to assume there will be about 7 people on their side. The person we're meeting with along with about 6 guards. We're gonna send in 5 of you while the other 5 are gonna be stationed close by and out of sight." Pressing the button again, 5 small triangles appeared on the screen, 3 mirroring the 3 central circles while the other two stayed at the edges. A few seconds passed before names appeared, labeling each triangle. "Chanyeol, you will be one making the negotiation. You're a major part of this. You need to make sure that we get the deal and get in. Don't mess it up. Lay and I are going to be there with you as your backup. Kai and Sehun, you're going to be guarding the door."

"That means you all should get there--"

"On time." Kai and Sehun said in unison, rolling their eyes at Luhan's comment.

"Are you ever gonna let that go?" Sehun asked.

"Maybe... if you tell me what you're doing," Luhan said.

" Guys, focus," Suho said, putting the attention back to Kris. 

"Baekhyun, Kyungsoo, Luhan, Tao, Joon-Soo, and Yoon. You are all gonna be around the area. Watch for anything suspicious." Kris finished. " Woo-Hyun and Suho are going to stay in the car, watch the cameras, lead the others."

"This sucks," Xiumin said. "I don't wanna just stay here and do nothing. I wanna help."

"You getting rest is going to help," Woo-Hyun said. "You can't help now but you're gonna be able to help later, that's what's important." Xiumin glared at the boy, cursing his smarts before sitting back in his seat. 

"Does anyone have anything questions?" Suho asked.

"Do we have any idea who we're meeting with?" Yoon asked. "Like are they apart of the operation or just some random person?"

"I don't have any names but we know they only trust the higher-ups to lead 'interviews' like this," Xiumin said. "Chances are, it's gonna be someone who works closely with our target."

"We need to start getting ready. Go get your gear and meet back here before we go." 

~*~

"Everyone ready?" Chanyeol hears Suho's voice through his earpiece. He lets out a small yes, the others following suit. With a shake of his head, Chanyeol fixed himself before looking at the large door in front of him. 

"We're moving in," Chanyeol said, fixing the collar of his jacket before nodding to Kris. The taller of the two walked to the door before sliding it open, revealing a somewhat oddly lit room a single table set in the middle, six chairs placed around it. There was no one else, present, only the five who walked in slowly, carefully looking around. 

"This is more...pleasant than expected," Sehun commented. 

"Did we come early?" Lay whispered to Kris.

"Nope," a voice said, bring their attention to the guests that seemed to magically appear before their eyes. It was three girls, all seeming to be young for something like this, not even in their 20s yet. The first was a blonde with blue eyes, complimenting her light complexion. She was the tallest of the group, her face painted with bordem as she looked at the group of men, everything in her wanting to just get their job done and leave. The second looked a little bit more interested in what was happening. The tan slender girl had a smile on her face as she held a black folder to her chest, pushing up her black glasses as they stood across from each other. "You're right on time." the tan girl said. At the sight of them, Kris couldn't help but laugh a little. 

"Is something funny?" The last girl asked, looking at the taller, one brow raised. Her voice came out like velvet, the tone sounding somewhat playful than intimidating. She was the shortest of the three, her curly, black hair bouncing by her brown shoulders as she cocked her head to the side, seeming to size up all the men in the room. When the man didn't answer, she simply smirked, looking at the others before taking a seat. Chanyeol let out a small laugh as he walked up to the table. 

"Excuse me, Miss," Chanyeol said politely, watching as the three girls took their seats at the table. "We're actually supposed to have a meeting--"

"You are the prospective investor with KLP Industries," The blonde cut him off, her arms crossed as she looked at the three.

"And you are the people we are meeting?" Kris asked.

"Anything outside?" Sehun whispered into his radio as the others continued.

"Nothing," Baekhyun said from his place across the street.

"Why else would we be here?" The shortest of the three asked. The girl with glasses offered another smile as she opened the black folder.

"This is a little weird don't you think?" Kai quietly asked over their radios. "Why are they little girls?" There was no response.

"Well," Glasses started off. "In all honesty, there isn't much to discuss. We have an offer and if you accept it, we'll be all good."

"Really?" Chanyeol asked, taking a seat in one of the chairs, Kris and Lay standing behind him. The shortest let out a smirk as her colleague handed her the paper. 

"Really," The girl stated. "In the years that I've been at this company, I've never seen our boss make an offer so quickly." She placed the paper upside down before sliding it in front of the other. "So all you have to do is accept it." Curious, Chanyeol took the paper flipping it over only to see there was nothing there. No numbers, no contract. It was simply a white piece of plain paper. He let out a small laugh before slamming it on the table, staying in character though everything seemed to be slowly breaking apart.

"What is this?" he asked, raising his voice a little. "A joke?"

"Well, this is a fake meeting isn't it?" Glasses asked, an eyebrow raised. "It only seemed appropriate."

"What?" Chanyeol asked.

"Code Yellow," Sehun said into his radio, as he and Kai moved closer. "We need backup now!"

"How about we all the drop the act, yeah?"


	7. 7

"I gotta say," The slender girl with glasses said, looking straight into Chanyeol's eyes, the man still sitting calmly. "Setting this all up... it was a good idea. If you had met someone else here today, you probably would've gotten away with it."

"Too bad you got us," the blonde commented. "Might as well go back to your boss and tell him you failed." Chanyeol looked at the girls before letting out a smile, laughing a little bit.

"You girls are very smart," Chanyeol said standing up. He looked over the girl's heads, watching as Luhan, Kyungsoo, Tao, Baekhyun, Joon, and Yoon poured in through the back door and windows, making sure they weren't heard. 

"We know," The shortest said.

"But not smart enough," Yoon said with a low, running up to the girls swiftly. He jumped, wanting to surprise the shortest girl, but she looked up at him with a glare, sending a chill down the boy's spine. Before anyone could bat an eye, she grabbed Yoon's leg and swung him to the ground, making him land on the table. He groaned out curses in pain. 

"Look who wants to join the party," the blonde said.

"Enough with the foreplay," Kyungsoo said, his gun pointed at the three girls. They turned, seeing that they were now surrounded by the men, guns pointed at their heads. 

"Who are you?" Baekhyun asked.

"I don't think you need to know," The blonde mentioned. "You won't see us after today anyway."

"You really think the three of you could get away from us?" Chanyeol asked.

"Watch me," the shortest said with a smirk. Without hesitation, she jumped up and kicked the table in front of her, Yoon and the table both aimed at the door. Sehun and Kai were hit as Yoon headed for the wall, all three of them groaning in pain. Without hesitation, the others stung into action, many of them pointing their guns only to realize that with one wrong move, they'd hit their allies. 

"We're gonna have to do this hands-on," Baekhyun said, throwing his gun to the floor as he ran up to one of the girls of his choosing. The others followed his lead, removing their weapons before going to attack the girls. The three held their own well against the others, many of them not being able to get a good hit on them before being sent to the floor or a nearby wall.

Seeing another opportunity, Yoon headed for the shortest again, grabbing her arms from behind before she was able to deliver a punch at Chanyeol's face. Rolling her eyes, the girl twisted her arm, getting it out of his grasp before tripping him quickly. She looked down at the other before letting out a small laugh. When she turned around, Chanyeol had a gun in his hand, pointed at the other. 

"We're done here," Chanyeol said. "Just give up and tell us what you want to know."

"I don't think you realize who you are up against," The girl said, sliding a gun out of her back pocket, pointing it towards the man on the floor. "You know, it was a really stupid decision to leave a gun on the floor." Chanyeol looked up to see the other two girls over a couple of his friends, guns in hand pointing at them. "Now put down the gun, before your friends get hurt." Chanyeol looked at the others, his thoughts moving at a million miles a minute before realizing someone was missing. 

"I don't think so," Chanyeol said.

"Chanyeol!" Kyungsoo yell. 

"What the hell dude!" Yoon said. Before anyone could answer, a loud scream was heard, making the shortest turn, watching as her friends stood in their spots as they shook in their spots before falling to the ground. The shortest watched as Lay stood behind them, two taser guns in his hands. Before she knew it, the small girl felt an arm around her own neck. She automatically reached for the arm as the man behind her shushed her, a needle in his hand. She began to scream as she saw it, kicking like a child as the needle was pushed into her arm and the contents within began to disappear. Moments passed and the girl became quiet and lifeless almost. The others all let out a deep breath as they realized the three were done for. 

~*~

"I'm so pissed off," Xiumin said, punching the bag in anger as Chen stabilized it from behind.

"At what?"

"The fact that I couldn't go tonight. Look at me. I'm wide awake. I'm conscious. I'm fine. They should've let me go."

"You had been up for almost three days straight and fell asleep in the breakroom. You needed some time off." Chen tried to explain.

"And Lay had to go in my place! I hate that he had to go because of me. Everyone knows why he doesn't go and he shouldn't have had too." Xiumin stopped for a second, making Chen peak from behind the punching bag to look at his friend. His anger was visibly present but was outweighed by his obvious exhaustion. They had been in this room since the others had left. Xiumin couldn't stand the fact of staying home while the others were out. Knowing how the other could get, Chen didn't dare to stop him.

"You finally got all the energy out of your system, can we go home now?" Chen asked.

"Not until the others come back." 

"Xiu, It could hours before they--"

"I'm ready to go to bed!" Baekhyun's voice was heard from the hallway. Excited, Xiumin ran out to the hallway, Chen behind him until they met up with the others. Without hesitation, Xiumin gave Baekhyun a big hug. 

"Are you okay? Did everything go well? Did you get hurt?"

"We're fine mom," Luhan joked, walking to his friend's side with a smile. 

"Why are you here?" Chanyeol asked. "Aren't you supposed to be at home relaxing?"

"He was so worried something would go wrong and you guys would need us," Chen explained. "We've been waiting for hours."

"Xiu, you were supposed to be taking a break," WooHyun said.

"Oh shut it," Xiumin said. "It's not like I drove over there ready to fight or anything."

"So what happened? Did you guys get in? Did you find out anything?"

"Kinda?" Tao said. "We got three girls."

"Girls?"

"I wouldn't call them girls," Yoon said. "Probably monsters."

"Aww," Baekhyun laughs, ruffling the boy's hair. "Is someone upset that they got beat by a girl?"

"I didn't get beat by a girl," Yoon said.

"Bro," Joon mentioned with a laugh. "She dominated you. Everything you hit her with, she turned it on you. You could probably learn a thing or two from her."

"Shut up," Yoon said, pushing his friend.

"That's enough. We can all catch up in the morning. For now, everyone needs to go get some rest." Suho said. Everyone agreed, causing them all to disperse away. Before he was able to get away, Suho was able to grab Lay's arm, asking him to stay back a bit. 

"What do you want Junmyeon," Lay asked, rolling his eyes before the other got the chance to talk. 

"I was just wondering if you were okay?" Suho asked. "I know that coming tonight was a lot for you--"

"And you still made me do it," Lay said, getting angry once again. "What's the point in asking? It's already done with."

"Lay, I--"

"I'm fine Junmyeon," Lay said. " I just need time." With that last sentence, the man walked down the hallway, passing the group that had been peeking around the corner. Just like the man who was left in the hallway, the others were speechless.

"This isn't good," Baekhyun said.

"Why do you care?" Yoon asked. "We shouldn't have been listening in anyway."

"They're my friends," Baekhyun said, only to receive a raised eyebrow from the boy. "Fine. I'm nosy but that's not the point."

"What's the worse that can happen? So they're fighting. Big deal." Yoon said, walking away from the other. Baekhyun glared at the boy before going back to peer around the corner, looking at Suho who seemed to still be in his own world, looking at the space in front of him with a sad expression.

"If you knew them, you'd know that is a big deal."


	8. 8

"Yesterday," Kris started off the meeting, the projection screen behind him flashing photos as he spoke. "We were matched by these three girls, all whose identities have been unconfirmed."

"We would've been dead meat if you weren't there Lay," Sehun commented, looking at the other, back in his element, notebook in hand, jotting notes as the presentation went on. 

"It was nothing really," Lay said.

"They're right though," Suho added. "If you hadn't been there, they might not have had an opening to capture those girls." Letting out a steady breath, Lay gave the other a forced smile. 

"Don't flatter me, Junmyeon," Lay said simply. Though it was only four simple words, the others felt the cold chills as they watched the scene. 

"Looks like the parents are fighting," Chanyeol whispered to his friends, making Baekhyun shush him from his seat behind. Instead of getting angry with the other, he simply got excited turning around to fully face him. " Do you know what happened? Tell me!"

"Be quiet and pay attention," Baekhyun ordered, turning his attention back to the screen with the three girls, Kris continues his briefing. 

"The three are all conscious at the moment and separated. We need to find out anything we can. That means their history, connection with KLP, anything."

"Why not ask them questions altogether?" Joon asked. "Like all three of them in the room together."

"That's rule number 1 of interrogation dingus," Sehun commented. "Never interrogate a team together. They could easily come up with a cover story and stick with it. We'd never get the information out of them."

"Seeing from the way they all worked before, it seems like they are prepared for a situation like this," Woo states. "They also seem to not give in for any reason. The only time their guard was down was when--"

"Lay tased two of the girls," Chanyeol finished. "That's when the other let her guard down."

"Exactly."

"Are you suggesting that we torture little girls to get answers?" Xiumin said.

"It's quick, easy, and a sure way to get what we need," Yoon said.

"Maybe for a villain," Baekhyun said. "That's not how we do things. We aren't going to torture them."

"He's right," Suho said. "We don't do that kinda stuff. We'll conduct interrogations like normal. Understand?" The group let out a yes together, some stronger than others "Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, and Luhan will be the first ones to meet the girls. Take your partners. Woo, Yoon, and Joon will sit in as well."

"You got your tasks, go!" Kris said, ending the meeting. The males all left, forming a small group as they prepared for their assignments. 

~*~

"Any News?" Suho asked, Lay walking close behind him as they walked into the briefing room once again, seeing his friends all stumped. 

"Nothing..." Baekhyun said. "They've been in there for 5 hours and they haven't said a word!"

"I don't think the blonde one is even breathing," Sehun said. "Like... There's no sound coming from the room."

"Have you offered them food? Water?" Suho asked, rushing into the room.

"Many times. Nothing's worked," Kyungsoo said.

"Who's in there now?" 

"The boys," Chanyeol said. "They said that since they are all around the same age, the quote 'know how to get them to talk'"

"I doubt that they can," Chen said.

"Ye of little faith," Yoon said, walking through the door, his friends behind him. "You should never doubt my genius."

"They told you something?" Luhan asked.

"Not yet," Woo corrected. "But soon."

"They had a demand," Joon said. "They all wanted to be together."

"And you did what?"

"I told them we'd do it," Yoon said. "Duh."

"Didn't we already explain why that wasn't a good idea?" Kyungsoo asked, rhetorically. "You're giving them exactly what they wanted."

"If that's the only way they will communicate then that's what we need to do," Woo deadpanned, keeping his composure. "This is possibly the closest we've been to getting this case closed and we don't have the time to waste."

"He's right," Kris said, standing by the door. "We need to do whatever we can to close this thing, even if it seems risky. We'll all meet in the holding cells in 10 minutes. Lay, you know what to do." Without waiting for agreement, Kris walked away, Lay quickly behind him. Suho looked at the others, who looked at him in utter defeat. 

"Get some questions ready," Suho said before walking out, the boys closely behind. With the others gone, the men let out a collective groan. 

"I hate how he's always right!" Tao said again. 

~*~

The 15 males stood in a line as they waited. It was silent as the walls began to separate, revealing a glass wall dividing the room. The looked through at the bright white walls in front of them, looking as the three girls began to be shuffled in, each smiling once they saw each other. The men watched as the shortest one of the bunch brought the others in for a huge, holding them in tight. There were a couple of laughs and giggles heard before Yoon knocked on the window, grabbing their attention. Pushing the boy back, Suho stepped up and looked at the girls, putting on a small smile.

"Hello. I'm--"

"I know who you are. No need to introduce yourself." The girl with glasses says.

"We all do" the shortest chimed in. " We know a lot about you guys."

"That's kinda... weird don't you think?" Joon asked. 

"You say weird," the blonde answered “but we call it being prepared.” 

"Be quiet," Yoon said, trying to be intimidating. " And start talking"

"Oh," the shortest one said with a laugh. "Someone's a little irritated. It's understandable, being beaten up by a girl must bruise your little ego, doesn't it?" Yoon looked at the girl, somewhat stunted by what she just said. 

"You can try and taunt all you want," Joon said, a small laugh coming out of his mouth. "It won't work."

"Really? Seems like it's working," The shortest remarked. "At least with this one that is."

"We let you all be together,” Yoon stated. “Now talk. Who are you?”

“I think we should focus more on you though,” the shortest said, looking at the taller man. “You know, reading about someone and actually observing them are two very different experiences… Why would I miss this opportunity?”

“So you did some research?” Yoon asked. “Should that make us scared?”

“Depends on what you’re afraid I’d know?” 

“So what do you know?” Yoon said, a small smirk on his face as he looked at the girl, not taking anything she said seriously. The feeling she had as she looked at the other annoyed her, something in her wanting to turn his smile into a frown.

“I know about your mother,” she said simply, getting the reaction she wanted. The young boy froze in his space as the girl looked at him with a small, innocent smile. Everyone else looked at the boy, most not knowing the impact of what the girl said, but knowing it couldn't be good. Chanyeol, feeling a sense of deja vu, grabbed the other’s arm out of precaution as Baekhyun let go. “Don’t worry...I won’t say anything else about it. That would be rude of me to share your business. But I have to say… I don’t think she’s completely wrong about you… and I think you know that too...don’t you?”

Without another word, Yoon yanked his arm away from Chanyeol, walking over to the controls and pressing a button.The glass window suddenly began rising, making the barrier between the two groups disappear. Despite their efforts, Yoon got through the group of men trying to stop him, eventually stopping a few feet in front of the girl, his gun in hand pointed to her head as her friends stood behind her and watched. The girl only responded with a smile.


	9. 9

Everyone in the room froze as Yoon pointed the gun at the girl's temple, only a few feet away from her. The girl's friends wanted to jump into action but were stopped when the other simply put her hand up as if telling them to wait. She smiled a little before she began walking towards the other.

"No need to worry," the girl said. "The baby is just throwing a little tantrum."

"You got a lot of balls saying something like that to me...You think you're invincible?" Yoon asked. "Because I promise you, I've killed stronger people than you." 

"That might be true, but how would killing me benefit you?" the girl asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Sending a message to your boss, " Yoon responded. "Showing them what we're capable of. Your dead body would be a big message don't you think?"

"If they cared about us being alive or dead, they wouldn't send us to deal with people like you," The short one said. 

"You guys work with them though," Xiumin mentioned. "Wouldn't it be bad for them if something like this happens. They would come and save you because of the information you have."

"You guys obviously don't know the kind of people you're working with," Glasses said. "They'd expect us to die without a word."

"Seems like you’re in a pretty shitty situation...sadly, I can’t feel any pitty for you.” 

"We don’t need your pity… but you all do need our help" she responded. "You see, we let you capture us. If I wanted too, I would've killed just enough of you before getting my friends and leaving, but I didn't. If you kill me now, do you think my friends will talk? They probably wouldn't. They'd probably want to kill you just to point a gun at my face. What would you do then? You're back at square one all over again... if you survive that is. " The boy just looked at the other speechless as she put her finger on the gun in front of her, moving it down so that his arm simply sat at his side. "A gun isn't just something to throw around to look cool. Think about the risks your taking when you point it at someone, especially when it's a fight you won't win." The shortest then reached up, putting a hand on the other cheek, caressing it a little with her thumb as she let out a sigh before she pushed the boy and watched as he fell to the floor. Chanyeol and Baekhyun were the first to try and help the other, a little worried as they watched him just stare up at the girl, frozen in his place.

"We need your help?" Woo-Hyun asked.

"Yes, you do," the girl with the glasses answered, stepping forward. "Other than the obvious fact that you all would like to know more about our company and what they are doing, you need evidence to indict them for anything. You can't get that without having someone on the inside right?"

"So you're offering what? To be our people on the inside?" 

"That," the blonde said. "Along with helping you all improve your systems as well."

"Our systems don't need--"

"A couple of days ago, you all had a man here who seemed a little off right?" the girl with glasses brought up, pushing her glasses higher on her nose. "Seemed shakey? Talking to himself? Yelling at the air? If I recall correctly, he punched you in the nose isn't that correct?" she asked, pointing to Chanyeol.

"How would you know that?" Baekhyun asked.

"You bugged our cameras," Woo said, looking at the girl with a glare.

"We didn't do it... But after realizing that some organization was trying to track them, they got someone too." the shortest explained. 

"Is that how you all knew about our plan?" Sehun asked.

"They must be on their way then," Suho said, beginning to think of how they were going to deal with the number of people that could be on their way. 

"Don't worry about it," Glasses spoke. "We're the only ones that know about you all except for our bosses."

"And if we tell them that everything is fine, then everything is fine." The blonde said. "Along with stopping them from suspecting you, we can also fix your system and make it so that no one can get in."

"Why should we trust you?" Chen asked. "How do we know that you guys aren't just here to get more information from us?"

"Why would you want to go up against your bosses?" Jongin added. 

"We have our reasons," the shortest said. "But more importantly, you guys don't have much of a choice. When else are you gonna have people like us here to take down KLP?" 

"She is right," Kyungsoo admitted, causing everyone to turn to him. "They might be little assholes but they have a point. They can get us the information we need."

"How can we know if we can trust them or not?" Sehun said.

"I vote no," Joon said. " They talk big but I don't think they're serious."

"Do we really wanna take that risk though?" Luhan asked. "This could be our only chance."

"Guys, stop talking," Lay interrupted, sensing a big argument coming. "It's not your decision. It's your leaders' decision."

"So whatcha say?" the shortest asked, looking at Suho and Kris as they sat and thought. "Partners?"

~*~ 

"Hey," Joon said, leaning against the door behind him as his friend gathered around the door, looking in and staring at the 3 girls who sat around a table, talking amongst themselves until hearing the other's low voice. "Just because they decided to trust you doesn't mean we all do."

"What's that supposed to mean?" the blonde asked.

"For people who act so superior, you aren't that bright, are you blonde-y?" Yoon scoffed.

"It means that we're gonna be watching you," WooHyun clarified. "Closely." The girl with glasses let out a small laugh before getting out of her seat, walking over to the boys by the door. She looked at WooHyun up and down before placing a hand on her hip, glaring at the boy.

"You're gonna be watching me?" She teased. "You don't even know my name."

"Are you that scared that you're going to watch us?" the shortest one asked, moving so that she was now sitting on the table, her feet resting in the chair her butt had just been in. 

"We're not scared of you," Yoon said. 

"You looked pretty scared earlier... It was fun to watch." The girl smiled as the other began walking through the door, only to get held back by an arm. He looked back to see Baekhyun, looking down at him as he shook his head, his way of telling the younger to be calm.

"No more fighting you guys," Kyungsoo said behind him, pushing the other two boys inside the room as the girl with glasses returned back to her table, leaning on the back of it as the 12 men walked in. "We all have to work together now. Whether you like it or not."

"But they are right," Suho mentioned, looking to the girls from his place in the middle of the room. " Even though you're gonna be working with us, we're still gonna have someone watching you as a precaution."

"As an extra step, you all will have to move into the apartments that we have here so that we can keep a close eye on you all," Kris added, handing the girls slick, new phones as he spoke. "If you all go back to your headquarters, you have to let one of us know beforehand. You can contact any of us on these. It already has the numbers programmed into it. Agreed."

"I'll agree to almost anything if it involves free stuff," the shortest said, looking at the new phone in her hands, smiling as she swiped from left to right.

"These apartments... what are they like?" the blonde asked.

"Each of you will be sharing a room with someone who'll watch over you. You'll have a bathroom, a living room, a kitchen but there is only one bedroom so you all have to share. You'll room with Joon-Soo, Yoon, or Woo-Hyun."

"I'm not rooming with any of them," Yoon said. "Like she said. We don't even know their names. Plus they're girls. We can't room together."

"That is a problem," Luhan said. "The name thing. Not the rooming thing."

"Then let's fix it," the blonde one said, getting up. "I'm Seo-Yeon. I can do basically anything you need me for but my specialty is interrogation and communication."

"I'm Hyo-Min," the shortest says, placing the phone in her pocket."My specialties are combat, weapon use, in-field informant, and distractions. As you can tell, I'm kinda an asshole but you'll learn to love it."

"Does this mean we have two of them now?" Sehun whispered to Chen, loud enough of Yoon to hear.

"Don't compare me to her, you asshat," Yoon spit out, fuming over the thought.

"And I'm Aria," the girl with the glasses said, a smile on her face. "I'm the leader and I specialize in hacking, tracking and basically anything with a computer."

"Well," Suho said. "Welcome to the team."


	10. Chapter 10

Sehun peeked his head out of the classroom, making sure the coast was clear before letting out a deep breath. He smiled before walking out, trying his best to look normal as he opened his phone, beginning to check his messages that he had ignored for the last hour. Many of them were from the group chat he had with his friends. He let out a sigh, part of him deeply wanting to tell them about the class and what he was learning, but the other part knew it wasn't the right time. 

"You look guilty," a voice said, Sehun jumped a little. He turned around only to see the small blonde looking up at him, her eyes and face showing no emotion. Sehun, a self-proclaimed master of the poker face, matched her look, his heartbeat slowing down as he realized who the girl was. 

"What are you doing here Seo-Yeon?" he asked. "You were supposed to go to work as normal. It's suspicious if you suddenly stop showing up to work."

"We don't have any jobs do to so we didn't go in."

"So why did you come to me with this?" Sehun asked, both of them beginning to walk down the hallway. "Why not go the Kris or Suho? Why didn't you text someone?" The girl simply shrugged.

"I saw you first." Sehun rolled his eyes. 

"Where are your friends then?"

"I'd assume they went to go find the others too," she said. "We got to your campus and split up. It's really big you know."

"Our campus?" Sehun said, letting out a small laugh. "Compared to other college campuses, this would be considered medium. Didn't you go to college?"

"No way," Seo-Yeon said. "I'm not even done with high school yet."

"You guys go to high school?"

"Not really. Since we work and stuff, we do our work online. We always have. None of us have actually ever been in a school with other people." Seo-Yeon explained.

"So it's always just been you three?" Sehun asked, heading to the courtyard of the campus, placing them in the heart of it all. Seo-Yeon looked around, seeing groups of people quickly walking and talking to each other, some simply relaxing in the sun while others seemed to run at high speed. 

"Always," she said. 

"And you've never wanted to go to a high school?"

"Maybe to just see it. If anyone would want to go it would be Aria. She'd like making everyone look dumb."

"And the other one? Hyo..."

"Hyo-Min?" Seo-Yeon finished, beginning to think about her friend. "I don't know. She likes to watch dramas and things but I think she'd just get bored at school. If anything, she'd probably pick a fight with someone." There was silence between them for a second as they both seemed to enjoy the weather. Spring was here but it was obvious that Summer would be coming soon. Every day it seemed to get hotter and hotter. Days like this one, where the sun was out and accompanied by a gentle breeze. It was the kind of day that people craved. The two ended up stopping at a small coffee shop in the middle of campus, both getting their own preferred drinks before taking a seat outside.

"You guys should've gone and met with the boys," Sehun said. "They're at the high school. You could experience it for a while."

"And spend more time with them?" Seo-Yeon asked. "No way."

"I'm guessing the room situation hasn't helped you all get closer," Sehun said with a laugh, taking a sip of his boba tea. 

"It's been a day. Besides, Joon and I just stay quiet and do our own thing. I don't think that was the bonding you all were hoping for."

"That can't be too bad can it?"

"I don't like his presence. I'd rather just be alone. But it's better than Yoon and Min. They argued over everything last night. I'm surprised they didn't kill each other." Seo-Yeon said.

"You'll get used to each other soon enough," Sehun said. Once again, there was a small silence between them. Seo-Yeon looked the other as she thought, trying to figure out the best way to express her thoughts. After waiting a few moments, she ultimately just let out a sigh.

"Fuck it," Seo-Yeon said, gaining the man's attention. "What's the secret that you're hiding?" 

"What are you talking about?"

" I overheard Luhan complaining about how you and Kai are always leaving together and aren't on time and everyone was trying to guess what you guys are always up too." Sehun simply rolled his eyes. "Seeing you being weird earlier just makes me curious too."

"It's nothing serious," Sehun said. "Don't let Luhan get to you. That's just what he's like sometimes. He's just nosy."

"Well," Seo-Yeon said, letting the ending the syllables drag out longer than they're supposed to. Sehun just looked at her as she took a sip of her drink, looking at him with a look that simply begged the question. 

"Well, what?" 

"I just don't think it's Luhan being nosy," Seo-Yeon clarified. Sehun looked at the other before feeling the presence of someone else. He turned around only to see the chestnut-haired boy in question, a big smile on his face as he took his seat beside Sehun. 

"Hey," he greeted. He looked across the table before seeing Seo-Yeon and almost freaking out. Before he could, Sehun put his hand on his shoulder. 

"Her boss told her to take some time off. She's fine." Sehun said.

"So where are the others?" 

"Who knows," Seo-Yeon stated. " We all split when we got on campus. What are you guys doing next?"

"All my classes are done so I'll probably go back to the agency and get some work done."

"I'll probably do the same thing," Sehun agreed.

"OH?" Luhan said, a little surprised. "No secret meeting today with Kai? Interesting."

"They aren't secret meetings."

"Than what are they?"

"Well... I... I can't tell you that part." Luhan looked at the other as Seo-Yeon let out a small laugh, rolling her eyes.

"You guys are really... annoying aren't you?"

"What?" Sehun said, watching as the girl stood up from the table.

"What do you guys do for fun here?" Seo-Yeon asked, ignoring the man's question. 

"What do you mean?" Luhan questioned. "Like just in Seoul?"

"Yeah," Seo-Yeon said. "I don't really get out much."

"Really?" Luhan said, thinking about it. "Then why don't we go somewhere."

"No way," Sehun said. "Let's just go to the agency."

"I heard bowling is fun," Seo-Yeon said looking at Luhan. "Can we do that?"

"I love bowling! Sehun! Let's go bowling!" 

"No way," Sehun said again. "We're supposed to be watching her, not partying with her."

"The best way to keep an eye on me is to keep me pre-occupied don't you think?" Seo-Yeon asked. Sehun looked at her with a glare. 

"No," he said. "We're not going." 

Luhan stood up from his seat as he grabbed Sehun's hand beginning to pull him as Luhan told the other how much fun they'd have while bowling. Following suit, Seo-Yeon pushed the man's back from behind, making him walk faster as they walked to the parking lot. Watching from distance, Hyo-Min smiled to herself, crossing her arms before leaning on the wall beside her. Her thoughts wondered before laughing a bit. Xiumin, breathing heavy, stood behind her, resting once seeing the smaller in front of him. The sound of his panting made the girl turn around, facing him.

"Why... did you... have to run?" Xiumin said in between breaths. Hyo-Min simply shrugged, before walking up the other, hitting him in the back. 

"At least you got your exercise for the day," Hyo-Min said, receiving a glare in response.


	11. Chapter 11

"Look," Hyo-Min said, slamming her hands on the table, looking at the others in front of her. "It's just not believable that everyone would be scared of a guy who's named Buggy the Clown."

"Excuse me," Xiumin asked, standing up in his chair as well. "Did you even watch the show? He has the Devil Root Power, that's why he's so scary." Chen, Luhan, Sehun, and Seo-Yeon all watched as the two continuously bickered about anime as they had been for what seemed like the last hour. At this point, Luhan kinda regrets inviting the others to join them at the bowling alley. They hadn't even played a game before the three came, wanting to just sit and talk. Maybe they would've avoided this stupid conversation if they had.

"Yeah, but he also has a big red nose, blue hair, and dresses like he got pucked on by an ugly rainbow," Hyo-Min mentions, crossing her arms while looking at the man. "If I was there, I wouldn't be scared of him. If I was in a show like Fairytail though, that would be more thrilling."

"You're just biased because that's your favorite show," Xiumin said crossing his arms.

"You're both biased because you're both arguing your favorite shows," Seo-Yeon said.

"Not to mention that neither of them are real in the first place," Sehun muttered, taking a sip of his drink. "It's all just made up."

"It's not about if it's real or not, it's about the artistry in it," Hyo-Min said.

"Yeah. It doesn't have to be real for us to like it Sehun," Xiumin said. In response, Sehun stuck his tongue out at the two, both of them giving him the same response as if they are children.

"I'm sorry to say this Chen," Luhan said out loud the others sitting down as the subject of the table seemed to be changing. "It looks like you're gonna lose out to Hyo-Min here." Chen only elbows the man in response as the Sehun snickers a bit.

"Why are you guys always making jokes like that?" Xiumin asked with a smile. "Chen and I are just friends."

"For now anyway," Hyo-Min said, taking a sip of her drink.

"What do you mean?"

"Hyo-Min, don't do this," Seo-Yeon said.

"Do what?"

"I am what you call," Hyo-Min says, crossing her legs as she smiles brightly. "A matchmaker of sorts. I can tell when two people should be together and have the skills to help make that happy if it is wanted."

"What she means is that she sits around watching dramas all day and now she thinks she's some expert at love or some shit," Seo-Yeon says rolling her eyes.

"I don't think I'm an expert at love. I'm just good at understanding people and can see when people seem to be good for each other." Hyo-Min said. "For the record, I've never been wrong."

"You've also never had an actual relationship yourself so-- HEY!" Seo-Yeon yelled after a handful of napkins were thrown on to her. Hyo-Min laughed as the other began throwing napkins back at her, only for it to be stopped by Luhan. 

"Point is," Hyo-Min said. "I can see when people are good for each other and to be honest, you guys seem to have naturally grouped up."

"Are you talking about your stupid matchmaker things again?" A voice called. Hyo-Min turned around to see their other piece behind her, a smirk on her face as Lay stands beside her smiling as well. 

"Yes. I am. Tell them that I'm good at it." Hyo-Min said, pouting a little as her friend took a seat beside her. 

"Aria, tell her that she can't call herself an expert just because she watches a lot of TV shows," Seo-Yeon said. 

"It's not because of the TV shows, it's seeing how people interact," Hyo-Min explained. "You have a way you act with your friends and a way you act with someone you like. It's about spotting those differences."

"Then give us an example," Xiumin said. "When you looked at our group of friends, who are the first people you thought were together."

"Easy. Lay and Suho." Hyo-Min said. Lay let out a simple laugh as Luhan and Xiumin looked at the girl, a little surprised by her guess. "It seems fairly obvious though. You always follow him and stay close to him."

"I'm like his secretary," Lay said. "I have to follow him around. That's my job."

"I think you're wrong about that one Minnie," Aria said. "They don't even look at each other when they are in a room."

"Couples can fight Aria."

"We aren't a couple," Lay said.

"You guys are still fighting" Chen asked, his ears perking up when he heard the words. "I thought everything was fine."

"We aren't fighting," Lay said again. "It's just a disagreement." 

"You sound like a dad trying to reassure a kid," Hyo-Min deadpanned. "And it's not working."

"What are you all fighting about?" Seo-Yeon asked. "Did he say something rude? Is that why you're giving him the silent treatment?"

"I'm not giving him the silent treatment. And we aren't fighting." Lay said. "It's really nothing."

"Is it because you had to go on that mission?"Aria asked, making the men look at her in questioning once again. "I told you, I did my research on you guys. Before a few days ago, you hadn't been on a mission in almost 2 years, right?" Lay simply stayed silent.

"Aria can be really scary, right?" Seo-Yeon randomly mentions, feeling the tension around them, the three girls seemingly unbothered by it. 

"I'm not scary," Aria says with a little laugh, taking Hyo-Min's drink. 

"We know that," Hyo-Min said. "But other people don't. I think it's your face."

"Shut up," Aria said, in unison with someone else. She turned to see Kyungsoo and Jongin walked towards them, Kyungsoo feeling strange about the moment too. Hyo-Min laughed, looking at the two. 

"Kyungsoo is the scary one too right?" She asked the others, still a little shocked by the moment before. "You two are like the same person!"

"Why are you guys just sitting here?" Jongin asked. "Let's go bowling!"

~*~

"Lay!" Aria called the man, running from the lanes to take a seat next to the man who was watching from the sidelines. Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Kris, Tao, Yoon, and Joon ended up joining the group, wanting to play with their friends. Lay had silently watched as the others got competitive with each other, seriously playing the game as some just laughed and jokes with everyone. 

"Are you having fun?" Lay asked, watching the girl click her heels together. 

"Yeah. You know, we've never done anything like this."

"Like what?"

"Like this. Hanging out with a bunch of people together," Aria said.

"You guys don’t have any other friends?" Lay asked, a little surprised by her word choice.

"Is that what we are?" Aria asked. "That would be nice, even if you guys do just drop us after all this is over. It would be nice to think that we were friends." There was a small silence amongst the two as Lay thought about what she said. "Anyways… I came over here because even though I haven't known you for long, I know when I've said something wrong."

"What do you mean?”

"I'm sorry for bringing up your last mission and the stuff happening between you and Suho. It's not my business so I shouldn't be sticking my nose in it." Lay looked down at the girl for a second before taking in a deep breath. 

"It's fine," Lay said. "I shouldn't pretend like I'm not mad about it." There was silence once again, neither one of them knowing what to do. Before Lay could really think, his mouth began spewing out words, his brain keeping up. "2 years ago, a couple of us teamed up with another group. My friend Jonghyun was my partner for the mission. I was supposed to have his back while we infiltrate some... factory but I was careless. We were fighting and I didn't realize one of their gunmen was aiming and Jong took the bullet instead of me... Since then, I've done everything I can to help without being on the field."

"But then Suho made you go," Aria said, putting the pieces together. Lay simply nodded, making the girl let out a groan. 

"What is it?"

"It just that relationships like this are annoying," Aria says. "Like I understand why you're scared to go back out in the field again, but it sucks that you're blaming yourself. And it sucks how Suho is trying to help." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Well... I don't know much about it since I haven't asked, but I see the way he looks at you. Even though you guys have been fighting, he doesn't seem mad at you. He just looks hurt. Maybe he thought having you go on the mission would show you that you can be on the field or to show that not every mission you go on will end that way. I think he believes in you so much that it hurts him that you don't believe in yourself, and now, even though he got what he wanted, you still might not because of him." Aria explained.

"You got all that from a look?" Lay asked. Aria laughed a little as she looked up at the man. 

"It's just a theory." Aria said. "All I know for sure is that he wouldn't hurt you on purpose. It seems like that hurts him more." Lay looked at the girl, thinking about her words as Woo-Hyun walked up to the two, a little weary of what the girl had to say.

"What are you doing?" WooHyun asked.

"It’s a thing that people do to communicate called talking," she said. "You and I are doing it right now."

"Do you ever get tired of being such a smartass?" WooHyun asked.

"Nope" Aria said, stepping closer to the man. "Especially when I get to see that little blush on your face… So cute.” With that, Aria walked away, leaving WooHyun a little shocked. After a moment or so, he ran back to the group, embarrassed as he took his seat. Lay laughed a little as he began watching again, only for the seat beside him to be filled once again. He looked over to see Suho, calmly watching the group in front of him.

"Is it okay if I sit here?" he asked, not making eye contact with the other. Lay looked at him, picking up on what Hyo-Min said before. He didn't know if she was right about everything but she was right about one thing for sure. He was hurt and seeing how nervous the other seemed, Lay knew that he must be the cause of it. He let out a deep breath before looking forwards as well.

"It's fine... Suho," Lay said, seeing Suho turn his head at the sound of his nickname once again. He slightly turned, seeing as the other looked at him with wide eyes filled with excitement. Lay smiled at him before looking forward once again, calmly taking the others hand in his. Aria, in her own confusion, turned her head, spotting the two together, both smiling as they watched everyone else. She smiled to herself before turning around, taking the heavy marble ball as she rolled her turn.


	12. Chapter 12

Joon looked at the girl as she slept on her bed, her hair was thrown over her face as her hands reached to the corners of her bed as if she was in a starfish position. He let out a sigh, wondering why he agreed to something like this. He began calling out her name, the action soon changing to him shaking the girl gently. When that didn't work, he simply walked out of the room, deciding to give up on the girl. Already dressed and ready he closed the door to their shared bedroom before making himself a quick breakfast and heading out the front door. He met WooHyun in the lobby of the building, by himself as well.

"Where's Aria?" 

"She didn't wake up," WooHyun answered. " I'm guessing Seo-Yeon is also sleep too?"

"The girl sleeps like a rock," Joon replied, leaning against the marble pillar closest to him. "Do you think the same will go with Yoon?"

"Where's everyone else?" Yoon's voice fills up the empty lobby space along with the sound of his footsteps. "I thought all the girls were going to school with us."

"Aria and Seo-Yeon wouldn't wake up," WooHyun said. 

"Is Hyo-Min coming?" Joon asked. Yoon looked at him confused before turning around, realizing that the girl that was right behind him on the way down was no longer there. Annoyed, he looked around the lobby before spotting the girl behind the corner a wall, checking to see if they had left yet. He walked up to her quickly before dragging her towards the door. The entire time, she was bickering with the boy to let her go, but his grip stayed tight around her wrist.

"What's wrong with you?" WooHyun asked.

"Yeah. What? Afraid of school?"

"You literally kept me up all night with your stupid questions about school and you aren't going to go because you have to wear a skirt?" Yoon asked, swinging the girl around so now she was standing up properly, the boy still tightly holding onto her wrist. 

"You're throwing a fit because you don't wanna wear a skirt?" Joon asked. " Isn't that a little childish?"

"Why not go ask the two who are 'asleep' upstairs that question," Hyo-Min said, rolling her eyes. " I don't get the big deal anyway. You guys don't wanna take us so why are you making me?"

"Because you were the big mouth who told the others that you would go, so now you have too. They're expecting to see new students at school." Yoon said.  
“I was excited about it before I knew I had to wear a stupid skirt.” Hyo-Min said, trying to defend herself. 

"Well then get excited again because you have to go.." 

"Just tell them that we got sick," Hyo-Min said. "That works in movies all the time." Yoon let out a groan as Joon let out a small laugh. WooHyun simply shook his head. "What?"

"You really have no idea how high school actually works," Joon said. "You poor soul."

"We don't have time for this," Woohyun said. "Let's go and get the others and head to school. if you go fast then we might not be late."

"We wouldn't want that now would we?" Joon said in a taunting tone, his mind creating scenarios he could only hope the girls would get into on their first day.

~*~

"Listen up!" The teacher said, walking into her classroom as the teens' loud voices began to lower, being minimized to only a few whispers. The boys sat in their respective places, knowing what was to come next, they waited calmly as the man in front of them explained that there would be 3 new students joining the class and that everyone should be respectful and help them as they got situated in the class. The three girls end up walking into the room, all wearing the school's uniform, A white collared shirt, royal blue tie, and grey suit jacket that had the school's crest on its left side. Along with it, all three wore blue checkered skirts and black knee-high socks, completing the look with white sneakers. The girls looked up at the group, their eyes moving through the crowd of people until landing on the faces they recognized, all the boys wearing smirks.

"Please introduce yourselves to the class."

"I am Seo-Yeon."

"Do you have a last name?" the teacher interrupts, somewhat surprised at the girl's short introduction.

"We have to give our last names?" Hyo-Min asked. Some students groaned while others let out small laughs.

"If I may ask... Where did you go to school before?" The teacher asked.

"We were homeschooled," Aria answered. 

"Well," a student said, looking at the girls with a small smile. "Normal people would know you have to introduce yourself with your first and last name."

"Hey," the teacher called, as of giving the said student a warning. The girl simply smiled, shrugging her shoulders as Hyo-Min looked at her intensely, her eyes glaring as her friends lisimply listened to the teacher explain how they should introduce themselves. First and last name along with a general greeting. Going once again, Seo-Yeon took in a deep breath, looking worriedly at Aria.

"I am Lee Seo-Yeon. It's nice to meet you all."

"I'm Kim Aria. Hello."

"I'm Park Hyo-Min." The last girl said, wearing a seemingly fake smile as she waved to the people In front of her, cocking her head at the girl who misspoke earlier.

~*~

"You guys seemed kinda... uncomfortable sharing your last names," Joon mentioned, walking up to Seo-Yeon's desk. It was lunch and the girl had been silently eating her lunch. After sitting in the chair listening to their teacher drown on about whatever it was he was talking about, Seo-Yeon wanted a simple lunch of silence, which had now been ruined. "Was there something you are hiding?"

"What would I be hiding that you could find out with my last name?"

"You know, it's such a coincidence that the three of you all have the same last names as your employers," Joon pointed out leaning against the small desk beside her. "Is that really just a coincidence?"

"You know who else has that last name? About a third of the population of Korea." Seo-Yeon remarked. "So yeah, I'm pretty sure it's a coincidence." Joon looked at the girl before hearing the footsteps of another walking into the room. WooHyun and Aria walked in holding bags of chips, snacks, and small containers of milks in their hands, only setting them down once they got to Seo-Yeon's desk. Yoon looked up, seeing the stash before running to the table, automatically marveling at the load.

"Where did you get all this?" he asked. 

"There was a kid who just gave them to me," Aria said. "I was walking around to find something and I asked this guy for help and he just gave me all the snacks he had."

"It was an upperclassman," WooHyun clarified. "He just saw her and offered her the food."

"Classic Aria," Seo-Yeon said. "You know, once someone offered to buy her a $500 dress just because she said it looked kinda cute. It's like she has a superpower."

"Why? Because she's pretty?" WooHyun asked, not thinking much about his words before saying them. Aria looked at the man before smiling. She took a chip out of his open bag , grabbing his attention, making him sit and stare at her for a few moments. 

"So you think I'm pretty?" She asked, taking a bite of the chip, somewhat seductively. WooHyun froze before shaking his head, letting out a groan as he looked at her with disgust.

“You’re about as pretty as my left foot,” WooHyun remarked. Aria let out a fake laugh as she picked up her own bag, watching as the last member of their group walked into the room.

"Oh chips!" she said, taking the bag from WooHyun's hands, the boy simply looking at the girl in disbelief. 

“Why are all of you stealing my chips?” WooHyun asked, his question only answered with a small smile from the two girls in question.

"Where were you?" Yoon asked. 

"Why?" Hyo-Min asked. "Were you worried about me?"

"We're supposed to be looking after you guys and you're not supposed to leave without one of us with you." Yoon explained. “So where did you go.”

"You should've followed me when I left then."

"What were you doing?" Yoon asked again.

"Nothing much. I will say though, school just got better" Hyo-Min said. Suddenly the sound of rushed footsteps was heard, making everyone turn towards the door to see a group of young girls soaking wet from head to toe, breathing hard. Aria and Seo-Yeon recognized one of them as the girl from earlier who had commented about them not “being normal”. The boys knew her as one of the most popular girls in their class. Hwang Yeji, Shin Ryujin, and Lee Chaeryeong, three girls who could easily end someone's social life at their school. Seeing as the three looked at Hyo-Min with anger, as the girl smiled brightly, they knew what would happen next wouldn't be pretty.

“Hyo-Min… what did you do?” Joon asked, standing up from his seat.

“You were right,” Aria said, putting down her bag of chips as she looked at the three girls with a smirk. “School is getting better.”


	13. Chapter 13

"Now I think that if you can recalibrate it so that--"

"Kris!" Tao runs into the room, interrupting the conversation Kris and Lay were having with is shouts. The man turned to see the other breathing hard as he looks at the others, trying to catch his breath.

"What did you do?" Kris asked, "Run all the way from campus?"

"I might... as well have... Why... don't you ... have your phone?" Tao asked, taking deep breaths in between his words.

"I must've left it in my office or something," Kris said, realizing the small device wasn't in his left pocket like he had thought."Why? What's the problem?"

"We have to go to the high school..." Tao said. "They got... in trouble."

"The girls or the boys?" Lay asked.

"All of them apparently," Tao answered, finally able to breathe normally once again after taking a big breath. "They said something about locking some girls in a shower and then fighting in the classroom. I don't know for sure really. I just know that they need us to go there right now."

"I'll call Suho and tell him to meet you all there," Lay said, quickly whipping out his phone.

"Don't worry about it," Kris said. "Tao and I will go."

"We will?" Tao asked, watching as the other walked up to him. Ignoring his question, the older grabbed the other's wrist and pulled him to his car.

~*~

"Agent Wu," a man in all black yelled, slamming a folder down on his desk, Kris and Tao both standing straight as the other yelled. "I allowed you to work with these girls because you and Kim said they would be useful in bringing down KLP. I even got them into one of the best ranking schools in the country, as if they were one of our own agents, and what do they do? THEY CAUSE HAVOC ON THEIR FIRST DAY!" The six kids sat outside the principal's door, squinting as they heard the man's yells from outside.

"Damn... He's ripping them a new one," Seo-Yeon said.

"I can't believe this," Yoon commented. "Do you realize all the shit we're gonna have to do to make up for this? All because you wouldn't apologize to a girl."

"Why should I apologize to her?" Hyo-Min asked.

"Well, you stuck her in a shower in the middle of the day, and then proceeded to fight her in class, brought all of us into it and when you had a chance to make it right and say sorry, you cussed at her and the teacher," Joon explained.

"Are you like...stupid?" Yoon asked. "Like... do you just not have enough... common decency to know that you're not supposed to beat up your classmates and curse at a teacher? If anything, you didn't have to bring us into it!"

"It's not stupid to not want to be someone's bitch," Hyo-Min stated, standing up to look at the others. "And for the record, I didn't ask any of you all to step in."

"I told you guys to leave it alone when they came in," Aria said. "But no... You had to go in and try and save the day."

"We were trying to help your friend," WooHyun pointed out.

"I didn't need your help," Hyo-Min said. "You were just sticking your nose in someone else's business and--"

"Oh shut up!" Yoon said with a groan, walking up to the girl, anger seeming to control him at the moment.

“Why don’t you shut up?” Hyo-Min said. “I could’ve handled it all by myself and we’re only here because you all decided to step in and make it a big deal than it was.”

“You were cornered by three girls and had no way to get out.”

“I was having a little fun with them… I could’ve gotten away whenever I wanted ”

“It was obvious that you couldn’t,” Yoon said. “Why don’t you just own up to the fact that you needed help.”

“I didn’t need help,” Hyo-Min said, her anger beginning to fluster inside. “And if what you did was really helping, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

"Yeah, without our help, you would’ve probably been out the window with your bag and school work." Yoon said. “Face it. You needed help. Too bad it crushes your dreams of being some big time badass, but too bad, it’s the truth.”

"That's a lot of big talk coming from you," Hyo-Min said. "I know you wish I was like you but I’m sorry to say I’m not. You know, I’m actually useful… you know because I’m good enough to be here." The sound of a slap replaced the girl's words as she now looked at the floor, her right cheek stinging. The others looked at the two shocked, none of them really knowing what to do.

"Lot of talk from someone who came to us for help. You think you're better than me because of what? You claim to be this amazing fighter who's a part of this amazing team, but you're not. Be honest with yourself. Without your friends, you wouldn’t be able to do anything" Almost if on instinct, the girl looked up, slapping the boy's left cheek, looking at him with dead eyes.

"What's happening out here?" Tao's voice called, him and Kris walking out of the office to see the two in a stare-off their cheeks red as they threw knives with their eyes.

"Things just got a little heated," Seo-Yeon spoke. "What did he say?"

"He'll give you all another chance but that's it," Kris said, looking at the six. "That means no more screw-ups."

"Too bad," Yoon said, a small melancholic smile on his face. "All she's good for is screwing things up."

"At least I'm good at something," Hyo-Min retorts. "It's better than being useless. I bet that's why your mom--"

"Don't you fucking dare!" Yoon said, being pulled back by Joon and WooHyun, knowing if the other got any angrier, there would be no stopping him. Hyo-Min let out an arrogant laugh.

"Hey, calm down."

"She wants to get personal, then I'll make it personal. " Yoon said, maneuvering his way out of his friend's grasps. "You wanna keep talking about my past? How about we talk about yours?"

"You don't know shit about me."

"I know you have nightmares every fucking night," Yoon said, breathing heavily as he looked straight at the girl. Hyo-Min felt his breath fanning onto her face, froze as she felt her stomach drop as the other continued. "Or are they just memories? Let me guess, you were left alone and no matter how much you screamed and cried for someone to help you, no one did anything right? And you were too weak to do anything on your own. You were hopeless weren’t you?"

"Hey!" Aria said. "Stop it."

"Why?" Yoon asks, turning towards the other. "Am I gonna hurt her feelings? Because she deserves it. She acts all high and mighty to everyone else but she's actually just a scared little girl who no one wants to save. And from what I can tell, that's not gonna change." Hyo-Min looks at the taller man as Kris pulls him away, creating space between the two. Tao, a little worried, walked up to the girl, reaching to grab her hand only for him to get rejected.

"Fuck you," she said. With that, she picked up her bag before proceeding to walk out of the school, ignoring all the calls to come back.

"What are you going to do?" WooHyun asked, looking at her friends, still watching as the girl got further and further away. "Is she going to come back?"

"I don't know," Aria said, with a sigh.


	14. Chapter 14

"I came as soon as my class was finished," Xiumin said, running into the meeting room. It only took him a few moments to realize everyone was already present there. "What's with this emergency meeting?"

"Hyo-Min is gone," Suho said with a sigh. 

"Gone?" Chen repeated. "Like gone as in--"

"Gone as in she left," Kris said clarified. "She walked out when we went to pick the kids up from school the other day. She hasn't contacted anyone or been home since."

"Told you we shouldn't have trusted her," Yoon said, his arms crossed as he sits with his feet on a table. "One little thing happens and she runs off. Probably went to go rat us out."

"Shut up," Seo-Yeon said, her eyes glued to her phone. "She wouldn't do that."

"You're the reason she left in the first place," Aria said. "So I don't think you have the right to say anything about it."

"Wait so she just left?" Chanyeol asked. "And you guys are just now telling us?"

"It's not a big deal," Aria reassured the group. "She'll come back... eventually."

"For someone who just lost their friend and has no idea where she could be," Joon pointed out. "You seem really calm. Like we're even having a meeting about this and you're just sitting on your phones like you don't give a--"

"How about you let us worry about our friend and you worry about your own," Seo-yeon said, raising her voice as she simply looked up from the device. The others all seemed to be shocked by her volume, never really hearing the girl raise her voice like that. "Hyo-Min was right. You all don't know shit about any of us but you continuously act like you know everything."

"You're right, Seo-Yeon," Kris said, bringing the attention back to him and Suho, who stood patiently in the front. "We don't know anything about you all. I honestly think we all don't know enough about each other."

"We're supposed to be a team but we continuously act like 3 separate teams that are just forced to work together and that's not cutting it anymore." Suho finished.

"So what are we going to do about it," Sehun asked.

"What did we do when we all first became a team?" 

"We told each other why we're here," Luhan said.

"That's right. We are all here for a reason. And sharing that with your teammates helps strengthen your bond. So I want us to go around and tell everyone why you're here." Suho explained.

"Is this a sad attempt to get us to tell you our reason?" Aria asked. "Because we aren't gonna just give it up."

"Because it's something bad?"

"Because it's something personal," Aria corrected the other quickly, sending him a glare. "I don't need anyone's pity."

"Then you don't have to give much detail," Suho said. "I'm not asking anyone to bare their soul here, okay? We just want you guys to know that we trust you and you can trust us." The room was silent for a few moments, no one really knowing what to say next. The only sound that came was of a chair gliding across the floor as Lay stood up from his seat, all eyes now on him.

"Simply put," he started. "I'm here because I lost a friend while fighting once and I don't want that to happen again. Even though I'm not always out there with you guys, I wanna do my best to help make sure you'll come back safe." Suho looked at the other before nodding.

"Thank you Lay," he said.

"I guess I'll go next," Baekhyun said, standing up from his chair. "A few years ago, my brother came to an agent here for help. I had gotten kidnapped by a gang in our area and he didn't know what to do. The agents here rescued me and I've been grateful for it ever since. When I was old enough, I came here and joined because I want to be like them. I wanna help people who need help... even if they don't want my help all the time. At this point, I also wanna be here with all of you guys. You might be a pain in the ass sometimes but you all are my family now. So I gotta be with you, no matter what." One by one all of the older men shared their stories. The room was silent once again when everyone looked at the younger teammates in the room, waiting to see which one of the 5 would share first. 

"God," Joon said, pushing himself away from the table. "If I'm going to fucking do it than you guys can't look at me." 

"Okay," Suho said, a small smile on his face. Joon watched as the older instructed the others to turn around so their backs were facing him. He let out a breath before closing his own eyes. 

"I'm here because I didn't have anywhere else to go. My parents left me for dead and I spent most of my time stealing to survive. And then Kris found me and helped or whatever." The boy quickly sat in his seat once he was finished, looking down at the floor since he knew it would be embarrassing when everyone would look at him.

"Parents are stupid," Seo-Yeon commented, making the other look to the back of her head as the others began turning around once again. "How do you just leave your child alone like that? I'd go beat their asses if I could." Joon looked at the girl, an unfamiliar feeling in his stomach as the girl's words rang in his ears. 

"You got bad parents too?" He asked, trying to speak normally all though his voice had the urge to crack as he spoke.

"My dad kept me locked up for 16 years," Seo-Yeon said. "And my mom didn't care enough to stop him... Aria and Hyo-Min are the only reason I'm here. So I'm gonna do everything I can to help them and keep them safe." Aria looked at her friend before giving her a small smile, elbowing her side playfully.

"I'm here because I need to get revenge," Aria said, the talk seeming to take a somewhat dark turn. "There's a bad person out there who I need to--"

"It won't work," Woohyun said, cutting the girl off. She turned around, looking at the boy as he looked at her over his glasses. 

"Woohyun, you aren't supposed too--"

"It's not worth it," Woohyun said, not letting anyone else invalidate what he said. "You think it's going to stop your anger and give you peace of mind right? But it's not. It's not gonna help you solve whatever problem you're dealing with. It won't help you move on. You'll just have more blood on your hands."

"How would you know?" Aria asked. 

"Don't you know?" he said. "I originally joined because my girlfriend died. I wanted revenge too and I got it... But that didn't bring her back. Now I'm just happy to have people who helped me get through it. And I care about them, so I'm here."

"Awe... you care about us?" Luhan cooed, looking at the boy.

"Shut up," Woohyun said, now embarrassed. "Point is. No matter who you kill or whatever, that's not gonna solve any problems." Aria and Woo were stuck in a kind of staring contest, Aria turning around after a few moments. 

"I'm sorry about your girlfriend," Aria said, just loud enough to reach the boy's ears. Woo took in a breath before looking at his friend beside him, his head turned as his feet still rested on the table.

"Come on dude," Woo said, elbowing the other. "You're the last one."

"This is stupid," Yoon said. "I'm not doing it."

"Everyone else did it," Baekhyun said. "Just come on."

"No way," Yoon said. "Bringing up the past won't do any good."

"That's why you're so freaking annoying," a voice chimed in, everyone turning their heads to the door. Hyo-Min stood there, scars and marks decorating her face as she looked at the boy across the room. "What? Are you too much of a man to show some feelings?"

"Why do I have to share my reasons with everyone? They're my reasons." Yoon said. "I can deal with my shit by myself."

"There it is," Hyo-Min said, clapping as she walked slowly through the room, ultimately standing a few feet in front of the boy. "There's your problem."

" You wanna know what your problem is? It’s the fact that you act like you know everything about anything."

"Don’t I?" 

"No, you fucking don't," he said, standing up. "You want me to share why I'm here so bad? Fine. I'm here because I want to be useful. My entire life my mother would yell at me and beat me and make me feel like shit and told me I was never good enough for anyone and I want to fucking prove her wrong. I'm not just some waste of space and I'm not gonna let anyone make me feel like that again. Not even you." Hyo-Min looked at the boy as he took heavy breaths. "Is that what you fucking wanted to hear?" With that, the boy left with a huff. Baekhyun looked around, his eyes lingering on the girl who seemed to be stuck in her own thoughts for a bit, her friends surrounding her, happy to see that she had returned. Focusing on the more important problem, the older ran after the boy, stopping him in the hallway.

“What now?” Yoon yelled again, turning around. Baekhyun paused as he took note of the other’s condition. Despite his efforts, Baekhyun saw the other’s red nose and watery eyes. He began to sniffle the longer the older looked at him, letting out a curse as a tear rolled down his eye. “Don’t look at me like that,” Yoon yelled angrily, turning back around to walk away. Baekhyun stopped him again, grabbing onto his arm.

“I know we don’t get along all the time, but you should know that no one thinks you’re useless,” Baekhyun mentioned thought the other wasn’t looking at him. “Reckless? Maybe. Impulsive. Definitely. Like there is no doubt--”

“Is this supposed to make me feel better?” You finally said, turning around to look at the other. Baekhyun looked, realizing more tears had fallen despite the other’s poker face. The older let out a sigh before putting his hands on Yoon’s cheek, wiping his tears. He was surprised the boy didn’t pull away.

“My point is that you don’t have to try so hard to prove that you’re useful,” Baekhyun said. “You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t… and part of accepting that is to share with other people. Asking for help.” Yoon simply rolled his eyes at the other's suggestion, but seeing that he was still standing in front of him, he knew he wasn’t going to just brush off his words. Baekhyun let out a sigh as he walked closer to the other, bringing him into a hug. Yoon stood in his spot, wide-eyed.

“What…”

“It’s called a hug,” Baekhyun said. “It’s something that friends give each other.”

“I know that… just… why are you giving me one?” Yoon asked, his voice getting lower as the sentence went on. 

“You seem like you need one is all,” Baekhyun said. “Besides, one hug won’t kill either of us.” Yoon’s head was flooding with thoughts, not knowing what he should do in the moment. Baekhyun let out a sigh before taking the boy’s arms and wrapping them around himself, a way to tell him to respond to the hug. Once his arms were positioned, Yoon gave in, hugging the other a little tight as he closed his eyes, the last of his tears flowing down without a sound. Baekhyun simply smiled as he ruffled his hair a little, for the first time remembering that the kid in his arms was just that… a kid.


	15. Chapter 15

Xiumin watched as the girl repeatedly hit the punching bag in front of her. His thoughts constantly switched between stopping her and letting her continue until she tired herself out, not really knowing what he could do to help at the moment. So instead, he stood there watching her quietly, listening to the few groans and grunts she let out from time to time. He was brought out of his trance when he felt light fingertips on his shoulder, making him turn. 

“So this is where you’ve been hiding,” Chen said, a small smile on his face as he stood by the other.. “The others were freaking out since you weren’t on campus.”

“And you weren’t?” Xiumin asked. Chen simply sent the other a glare before turning, beginning to observe the girl with him.

“How long has she been at it?”

“A couple hours now,” Xiumin said. “When I woke up this morning, she asked me to bring her here. I was gonna just drop her off and go to class but I felt like I needed to stay with her.”

“Why?”

“She hasn’t been sleeping much lately,” Xiumin said. “She stays up all night and for the last few days I’ve had to basically force her to eat… I’m just worried she’s going to over work herself.”

“Has she said anything about what happened when she was gone?” Chen asked. “Like where all those bruises came from.”

“Not a word.” Chen stood in his place and thought for a second before walking further into the gym area, Xiumin close behind. Hearing their footsteps, the girl gave the punching bag one last swing, taking in deep breaths before turning around to face the two. Chen examined the girl’s face, noticing the dark eye bags around her eyes and the sweat that dripped down her face. Her free black curls that usually bounced at her side were now tied and wrapped into a bun on the top of her head, a few of her curls sticking out. Even without what Xiumin had said, anyone could tell that she was holding a lot in. When she saw the both of them, she let out a little smirk before turning back around.

“I’m not going to that school,” Hyo-Min said. “So don’t try and convince me too.” Chen let out a small laugh before walking closer, putting a hand on her shoulder before gently turning her around.

“Trust me,” Chen said, “I’m one the last person who’s going to try and force you to go to school.”

“We just think that maybe now it’s time to take a break,” Xiumin mentioned, walking closer.

“I don’t need a break,” Hyo-Min said.

“Everyone needs a break,” Chen said.

“Well I don’t,” Hyo-Min said, turning back around only to be stopped by Chen.

“Hyo… I know that things are a little intense because of everything that happened but…”

“Nothing happened,” Hyo-Min said. “Nothing that I couldn’t handle anyways.” Xiumin took in a big breath before as Chen stood in his place, neither of them not really knowing what to do. “I don’t get why you are so worried anyways… I’m back and I didn’t tell anyone about what we’re doing so why are you guys even here?”

“Because you’re part of our team,” Xiumin said, a little offended by what the girl said. “So that means that we’re not just going to sit back while you do this to yourself.” The girl let out a scoff as she turned back around, beginning to punch the bag again. “Hyo-Min, at this rate you are going to workout until you pass out, you have to take a break.”

“I’m fi--”

“If Aria or Seo-Yeon told you that,” Xiumin said, cutting the girl off, “Would you accept it?” Hyo-Min stopped her hand mid-punch, thinking about the other’s question. A million thoughts flowed through her mind as her arm eventually fell to her side. 

“Hyo-Min,” Chen called. “I don’t know why you’re here. I don’t know what you think you are getting out of working with us. And honestly… it doesn’t matter. All I know is that you can’t get what you want if you’re constantly hurting yourself. You have to rest and take a break. You have to take time or else everything you think you’re doing will all be for nothing and you’re just going to hurt yourself in the process” Hyo-Min took in a deep breath as her arm fell to her side. Reluctantly, the girl turned to face the other two as she began unwrapping her hands.

“Fine… I’ll go back to the dorms.”

“No one is telling you to go back to the dorms,” Xiumin said. “And honestly, until I feel like you’re ready, I’m not going to let you go back there.”

“How about for now,” Chen said, “you go get cleaned up and we all go get something to eat huh?”

~*~

“I don’t understand why we are here,” Hyo-Min said, sitting with her arms crossed on the small couch. She looked around, a small part of her fascinated by the small room. She stared straight at the TV across from her as the two men took their seats, one staring at a tablet as the other looked at a small paper, vibing as the lights in the room repeatedly changed colors. “I thought we were going to eat something?”

“Karaoke rooms serve food Hyo-Min,” Chen said. Xiumin turned around, taking a seat next to the girl as he placed his arm on her shoulder, patting it a little.

“I just don’t get how karaoke is going to help.” Hyo-Min said, more as a whine. Despite her complaining, Xiumin still smiled, taking her whining as a sign that she was a little less stressed than before. 

“This is something that me and Chen do when either of us are stressed out.” Xiumin said.

“It’s just something fun and it helps get us less stressed and loosen up.” Chen said. “But this is top secret?”

“How is a karaoke place ‘top secret’?”

“He means that you can’t tell the others about this,” Xiumin said. “This is the only thing both of us have to ourselves.”

“And now you’re a part of that.” Chen said. “Whenever you need too, just call us up and we’ll all come here and just… have fun.” Hyo-Min looked at the two as they brightly smiled at her. She couldn’t help but smile as well, having a good feeling about all this. She simply nodded at the other as a song began playing over the loud speakers. Xiumin stood in front of the TV, staring at the two on the couch as he pointed to them, as if he was on stage looking out to the audience.

“Now… ARE YOU GUYS READY?!” Xiumin yelled, earning a combination of laughs and agreements from the others. In simple seconds, the man began dancing and singing along to the Girl’s Generation song playing behind him, not having to look at the words on the screen as he sung and rapped all the lines. It wasn’t long before Chen got up and began dancing with the other. Hyo-Min couldn’t hide her laughter as she watched the two olders dance and sang through a number of songs. She was a little shocked when Xiumin suddenly handed her a microphone.

“I’m good…” Hyo-Min said, trying to give the device back to the other. Xiumin shook his head as he pushed the girl’s hand away, rejecting her rejection. 

“One thing I’ve learned is singing helps process your feelings.” Xiumin explained. “It sounds cheesy but it works. So go sing anything you want.” Hyo-Min hesitantly took the tablet from the table as she scrolled through the song list, choosing one. She slowly stood up, facing the two who stared at her with anticipation.

“Can you all not look at me?” Hyo-Min asked. “It’s embarrassing.”  
“Just don’t pay attention to us,” Chen said. Rolling her eyes, the girl chose to look at the big TV screen as she heard the opening of the song begin to end. She took in a breath to calm herself as the notes and words left her lungs, creating a beautiful sound. Chen and Xiumin where slightly shocked, not really expecting the younger to sound so good as she sung the slow ballad. Without thinking much, Chen brought out his phone, beginning to take a video of the girl, only getting her silhouette before changing the camera to show his and Xiumin’s faces. As the song ended the two began clapping for the girl, her only responding by covering her face as she whined. Xiumin laughed as he went up to her, giving her a big hug. Chen was recording the happy moment when his phone suddenly began ringing.

“Guys,” he said looking at the caller id, before showing the others.

~*~

“You actually came,” Luhan said, watching as his best friend walked through the door. “Seeing that you weren’t at your classes today, I thought you might have died or something.” Xiumin rolled his eyes as he walked further in, Chen and Hyo-Min following closely behind. 

The room seemed to feel somewhat tense as they all watched Hyo-Min take a seat, the girl’s fun loving attitude from earlier now minimized and clouded by her own anxiety. A few moments went by before the youngest of the team walked in. For a split second, the other 10 men felt the need to leave, thinking of the possible explosion that might be set off as the two fighting teenagers saw each other. The thought, however, was extinguished by the sound of Aria and SeoYeon, whining as they saw their other piece sitting in front of them calmly. In their own friendly fashion, the two got their friend to smile again, complaining about having to go to the hell hole they now recognized as high school without her. Hyo-Min laughed as she listened to her friends, as the room began buzzing with conversation.

“So where were you today?” Baekhyun asked, looking to the man that had been MIA the entirety of the day. 

“We didn’t get a call. A text. Nothing.” Sehun added.

“Do you know how worried we were?” Kai said. Xiumin rolled his eyes as the three kindly reminded him of his own motherly tendencies he often showed to them.

“A taste of my own medicine I guess,” Xiumin said, letting out a little laugh. 

“So spill,” Luhan said. “Where were you all day?”

“He and Chen probably went on one of their secret adventures again or something,” Chanyeol mentioned, scrolling aimlessly through his phone. “You know they will never tell us.”

“Maybe for the last hour or so, but Chen was in class today.” Kyungsoo mentioned. “I’m curious about what Xiumin was doing before then.”

“Is it that weird for me to miss one class?”

“Maybe if someone died… wait did someone die?” Tao asked, his light-hearted joke creating a few laughs.

“No one died and I didn’t go on any adventure. I was here.” Xiumin said. “Hyo-Min wanted to workout this morning and I decided to stay with her.”

“Does it seem like she’s doing any better?” Lay asked. “It doesn’t look like many of her injuries have healed.”

“I think today was a start, but she’s going to need more time,” Xiumin said, looking to Chen who only nodded his head.

“How about Yoon?” Chen asked. “Is he okay?”

“It’s a lot of …”

“Anger,” Chanyeol said, finishing the other’s sentence. “If he isn’t acting like what happened doesn’t bother him, he’s punching a bag and complaining about it. She really hit a string when talking about his family”

“But on the bright side,” Baekhyun said, “He’s getting better at talking… in general. I think he really feels like he’s part of a team now instead of just trying to do everything on his own.”

“Aww, it looks like Baekhyun actually cares about him now.”

“Well, despite everything, he’s still a kid. And kids do some crazy things sometimes.”

“Looks like everyone is here,” Suho said, walking into the room, Kris right behind him.

“It’s our glorious leaders,” Chen said.

“Late like always,” Luhan said, making the others let out a small laugh. 

“What is this about?” WooHyun asked. “I was working on a research paper for class.”

“Wow,” Aria said, turning to look at the other. “You mean you do more than just suspect us of being liars? I’m surprised.” WooHyun simply stuck his tongue out at the girl as she did the same back, turning around as Suho called, suddenly feeling like a school teacher in a class of middle schoolers.

“We’re here because we just got a new mission,” Kris said, slamming down a pile of papers on the closest table. From there, the two explained the details of the plan, and everyone’s role in the plan. Everyone’s eyes flipped through their own stapled pack of papers as the two explained what their goal was and how they planned to execute it. “Are there any questions? Suggestions? Comments?” The room was silent for a few moments, everything seeming straight forward. The two leaders almost dismissed the group when a hand was raised. Yoon got up from his chair before taking in a deep breath, looking at the two men upfront.

“I don’t think Hyo-Min should be a part of this.”


End file.
